How to Survive College and even Fall in Love
by Storm Elf
Summary: Upon entering the Chatnoir's Wizarding College, Harry is shocked to learn that his new roommate is none other than Draco Malfoy. He is certain that they will spend the whole year fighting, but fate seems to have different plans for the pair. Harry/Draco
1. Lesson 1, Orientation

When Harry first stepped up to the doors to the great hall, he felt like he was 11 years old again, walking into Hogwarts fo

Hello and welcome to the first chapter of _How to Survive College (and Even Fall in Love)._ Much of this story is based on either personal experience or my fears of what it would be like to live with a roommate. However, I do want to mention that all of the roommates that I have had have all been incredibly sweet, so if you are going off to college, don't let this story scare you.

I will attempt to update every Friday, but I am in college, so the updates might lag a bit around midterms and especially finals. Also, I would like to thank SaKuRaMiNa for being such an awesome beta, roommate, and friend. Without her support and assistance, I never would have been able to write this.

* * *

When Harry first stepped up to the doors to the great hall, he felt like he was 11 years old again, walking into Hogwarts for the first time. Two large doors would soon open to reveal a large room that was already filled with students seated at tables. He stood among a large group of new students, entering the wizarding college for the first time. Chatnoir was considered to be one of the finest schools, everyone insisted that he was lucky to have gotten into it. Now that he was here, he wasn't so certain.

Once again, he was alone in a new school. He, Hermione, and Ron had spent all summer taking remedial classes, trying as hard as they could to pass with high enough grades to get into a good college. Hermione bugged Ron to study every single day, but the redhead hadn't listened, he would be spending another year at Hogwarts. It was true that he and Hermione would be in the same school, but he knew her better than to think that she would ever peek her nose out of the library for at least the first six months. Looking across the crowd of new students, the only other person he recognized was Neville Longbottom.

"Welcome, new students," A booming voice said as the two large doors began to swing open, "Welcome to Chatnoir!"

Behind the doors was a great hall, the room filled with more light than the sparse amount of candles could account for. Four long tables stretched up towards the head of the room where one man stood at a podium, arms open in welcome. It was so similar to Hogwarts that Harry half expected to see the house banners hanging over the tables.

Instead, the banners that hung over the tables were strikingly similar to each other, though there were clearly differences between them. All the way on the right, a great black jaguar prowled it's territory. On the second banner, a cat with several tails purred, casually slapping at the tassel just outside of it's reach. It's coat shone like obsidian, jade eyes flashing dangerously. On the left hand side sat another black cat, though this one appeared to be a regular house cat, sitting dignified in it's Egyptian collar. And then, above the empty table all the way to the left, one tiny black puff ball of a kitten rolled with a ball of yarn.

"That's a Nekomata," Hermione explained, pointing at the cat with many tails. "It's a Japanese cat, known for it's ability to shapeshift. They're very dangerous."

"It's a wonder Hagrid didn't have one," Harry chuckled, trying to look more comfortable than he felt.

"Come, come in my new kittens, have a seat so we can begin!" The man at the front of the room called out, followed by rounds of laugher from the other three tables. The new students began shuffling towards the empty table, quick to find a seat.

"I want to officially welcome everyone to another year at Chatnoir. I am Chancellor Salis, and if this is your first year, you will soon be hearing many stories about me from the older students. Many of those stories are true, and many are not. Before we begin, I do want to go over some basic rules."

Harry couldn't help but to smile at the familiarity of it all. Minus the sorting, it was so similar to the greeting at Hogwarts, complete with the rules. He began to feel himself relax as the chancellor went over the restrictions. There were fewer than at Hogwarts, mostly it was concerning drinking on campus and rules about noise. Overall, it was nothing that he hadn't expected.

"As you all know, all incoming students are required to spend their first year living on campus. At the end of dinner, everyone will receive their dorm assignments and a key to their room. Should you have difficulty finding your dorm, you may ask one of the older students for directions. We have taken special caution this year to insure that they do not send students to the wrong end of campus on purpose. The resident directors will meet with you in the common room before you head up to your individual rooms. Also, new this year, due to the increasing awareness in muggle-wizard relations, all incoming students who are not of muggle birth must take a muggle studies class. With that, let us begin our feast!"

Food appeared on the table in front of them, soon followed by individual place settings. Harry loaded his plate, but was disappointed to find that the food seemed bland and tasteless compared to the food at Hogwarts. How could this place ever compare? Hogwarts was his home, his sanctuary. This place, Chatnoir, was an alien land where nothing was the same.

"So, Harry, what are you majoring in?" Neville asked. He had managed to find Harry in the crowd and had sat down across from Harry and Hermione.

"Defense against the dark arts," Harry said with a shrug. He hadn't really put much thought into it, it was simply assumed that he would study to become an Auror.

"I'm going for Herbology, it's the only thing I'm really good at." Neville blushed a bit, as if he hadn't spent his seventh year leading a charge against the tyranny of the death eaters. "What about you, Hermione?"

"Advanced charms." She said with pride. "I got into the honors program."

"Congratulations!" Neville cheered.

Harry spent the rest of dinner talking to Neville and Hermione, reminiscing about Hogwarts and talking about how they had spent their summer. Now that they were distracted by food, the other students had stopped staring at the new students. Harry began to relax some, starting to feel more at home. He began to think that maybe he could actually get used to it.

"Hey, did you see whose at the other end of the table?" Hermione asked, leaning forward to peer around Harry.

"I hope he doesn't come over here," Neville bit his lip.

Harry leaned out to see who they were talking about. He was not the least bit surprised to see Draco Malfoy sitting across from Blaise Zambini. From the looks of it, they were the only Slytherins that had made it into Chatnoir. The two of them, along with the three Gryffindors, appeared to be the only Hogwarts students at the school. He recognized some of the older students from the Triwizard Tournament, though he didn't know any of them well enough to remember their name. The other students, Hermione explained, were most likely from private schools.

As the last of the food disappeared, the plates vanished with them. In their place, a piece of parchment with a key appeared in it's place. The letter had Harry's name at the top of it and a letter beneath his name.

_Mr. Potter,_

_Due to the large number of students entering this year, all student requests for private rooms have been denied. Your dorm assignment for this year is room 213 in Bengal Hall, which is located in the north western corner of the campus. On the opposite side of this paper is a map which will direct you there. I hope you enjoy your stay._

_Mrs. Anne Sparrows, housing department._

Harry nodded, flipping the paper over. From what it looked like, he wanted to go up and then left after leaving the great hall. Hermione's dorm was in the north east corner, right next to the library. Neville's dorm was in the south east, which was nowhere near the greenhouse. From looking over the names of his friends dorms, Harry was relatively certain that all of the dorms had the names of different types of cats. This place, he decided, was rather obsessed.

He waved good bye to his friends, setting off to find his new home for the school year. In the back of his mind, he wondered how it would compare to the previous dorms. It clearly was divided into rooms, so he would only have one room mate compared to the large number he had had at Hogwarts. That had to be a plus. If nothing else, it was less likely that he would be kept up by snoring. Unfortunately, the room would also be smaller. While Harry was far from being claustrophobic, he did enjoy having enough space to really stretch out and not feel confined. Living under the stairs for so many years had taught him the true value of space.

As he came up on the hall. He was surprised by it. It looked older than he had expected, and not in the grand way that Hogwarts was old. Hogwarts was ancient, and it seemed to hold the wisdom of so many years. This place, though not as old, seemed to hold the depression of so many years.

There were no obvious signs of dilapidation. There were no windows broken, no bricks missing from the wall, but it just did not seem so well taken care of. A thin layer of grime spread around the entire building. Landscaping, what little they had bothered with, had been done in a hurry. Scraps of ivy still clung to the building, ignoring all attempts to remove it. Scraggly trees stretched out with their bare limbs, seeming to grasp at the students who were walking past them. Then again, after his experience with the Whomping Willow, Harry would not have been surprised to find out that the trees actually were reaching for the students.

"Welcome everyone!" A voice called out from just inside the building. "Come on in, we'll be getting started soon enough!

Harry walked inside, wondering why everyone was constantly welcoming them to such an unwelcoming campus. The building's inside was much like it's outside, no obvious signs of disrepair, but just an overall apathy towards making it look nice. The paint on the walls was chipped in several small areas, but not enough to require a re-painting apparently. In the areas where it was chipped, old paint showed through, showing that over the years the room had been varying shades of white. The floor were white linoleum with little grey flecks that made it look filthy even when it was clean. The lighting was dim, possibly dim enough to disguise any bit of filth that clung to the building.

"My name is Toby Williams, I am the resident director for Bengal Hall." The man who had welcomed everyone in said. "I want to start off by apologizing for the state of the dorm. Due to the whole dark lord scare, so many students did not go to college, but now that that's over, it seems like everyone wants to go, so I guess we have backlog or something. Anyway, Bengal Hall is not normally used for student housing, it has been a storage building for several years. We will be making improvements to it throughout the year. Students studying magical decorating will working on fixing the paint, herbology majors will be doing the landscaping outside. Hopefully by the end of the year, we will have the most impressive building on campus!"

Harry nodded, wishing that he hadn't gotten Bengal Hall. Still, he did try to remain hopeful. It was true that he wouldn't get to see any of his friends from Hogwarts, but he was certain to make new friends. While Toby Williams rattled on about the obvious rules (no smoking, no being loud at night, no destroying school property…), Harry looked around the group of students to see who he might be paired with.

He was disappointed to find only one familiar face in the crowd. A bolt of ice shot through his heart as he realized that there was a chance that he could be placed in the same room as Malfoy. The blonde Slytherin was standing on the opposite side of the room, looking just as disgusted as Harry was at the state of the hall.

'No,' he told himself mentally, 'I'm not going to end up in the same dorm room as him, it's impossible!' There were so many other students in that hall, it was unlikely that he would ever even see Malfoy.

"Alright, and with that, you may go find your dorm room!" Williams announced, moving away from the middle of the room.

In an instant, everyone seemed to rush towards the stairs. Harry soon discovered that there seemed to be some confusion over what floor the rooms were on. There were no rooms on the ground floor, so the rooms beginning with 100 were on the second floor. That meant that his own room was on the third floor. He couldn't be happier. After so many years of going up all of those steps at Hogwarts, he was overjoyed not to have walk up approximately eight million stairs just to go to bed.

When he did find his room, he was disappointed to see that his roommate was not already there. Two piles of luggage sat in the middle of the room, if one could truly call it a room. The tiny thing was more like a prison cell. There was enough room for the furniture in it and not much room for anything else. Each roommate had their own bed, desk, and dresser, but it seemed that they were expected to share a closet. The walls, as with the walls downstairs, were painted white. The floor had the same filthy looking linoleum as well. Harry tried to remind himself of the good points. He still didn't have to go up so many steps to get there. He focused on that.

Not wanting to begin claiming a bed and dresser for himself until his roommate got there, Harry took to examining the luggage before him. The pile was slightly larger than his own, but not by enough to make his own collection look pitiful. The trunk was covered in a fine leather, embossed metal strips covered the corners to prevent ware. Every bit of it seemed to call out that the owner had the money to afford the good things in life, no matter how much they cost. While Harry was not overjoyed to discover this, he did have to admit that having a rich roommate could have it's advantages.

He began to wonder just who his roommate could be. Possibly one of the students from the private schools that Hermione had mentioned. Maybe he would be muggle born, the wizarding student of a rich family. More likely, he admitted, he would be a pureblood, brought up with everything he could possibly desire just handed to him. That sort of person always sickened Harry to the core. He prayed that he didn't end up with someone like that.

Harry's mind was snapped out of it's wanderings by the sound of a key in the door. Harry moved away from the luggage, not wanting to appear to be snooping around for clues to his roommate's identity. The door swung open slowly and Harry's jaw dropped in shock. In all of his worst nightmares he had never imagined that he would ever be forced to deal with this.

"Potter," A voice sneered at him.

"Malfoy," Harry sneered back.

* * *

Check back next Friday for an update. Until then, feel free to review. Both comments and criticism are welcome. Thank you for your time, I hope you enjoyed it.


	2. Lesson 2, Dorms

Harry stood still for a moment, letting everything sink in

Harry stood still for a moment, letting everything sink in. Draco Malfoy was his roommate. He would be living in the same room as Draco Malfoy. Draco Malfoy was going to sleep only a few feet away. He still couldn't get it through his head. From the looks of it, Malfoy was having the same problem.

"Um, hi?" Harry said after a long awkward moment.

"No," Malfoy said, his facial expression not changing. He spun around and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. A moment later, he opened the door again, only to be disappointed to find that Harry was still standing there.

"This isn't a problem," Draco said after a moment, "Not at all."

"What the hell do you mean? It's a huge problem!" Harry shouted back.

"No, it isn't. Tomorrow we'll go to Williams and tell him that we can't live together. We'll get different dorm assignments, we won't have to see each other again. All we have to do is survive one night together."

"Assuming you don't kill me in my sleep," Harry grumbled, reaching into his bags. He pulled out his toothbrush, tooth paste, pajamas, and everything that he needed for one night. Tomorrow, he assured himself, one of them would be gone. There was no use unpacking until then.

The bathroom, he had noticed, was just across the hall from their room. By the time he got back, Malfoy had already climbed into the bed nearest the door, the bed that Harry had had his eye on. With a deep breath, Harry moved to the opposite bed. From a tactical perspective, it was the worst position. Malfoy was between him and the door, blocking his exit.

"It's only for one night," he mumbled to himself, climbing into the opposite bed. Tomorrow, he and Malfoy would go to the resident director and they'd get their rooms switched.

Harry had to admit that he didn't feel truly safe sharing a room with his former adversary for even that one night. There was nothing that could stop him from murdering Harry in his sleep. Malfoy knew the dark arts, probably knew the unforgivable curses by heart at this point. There was no telling what he could do.

Harry shook his head, as if he could physically dislodge the thoughts. Malfoy wouldn't kill him in his sleep. More than anything else, the boy wanted to avoid Azkaban, there was no doubt in that. If "the boy who lived" suddenly became "the boy who isn't living anymore" after spending the night locked up with the son of a known death eater, well it wouldn't take the jury long to convict him. Malfoy had a very strong self-preservation instinct, he wouldn't knowingly endanger himself like that, no matter what the payout may be.

--

Harry's alarm went off at 8:00 the next morning. He didn't have class until ten, but he knew that it would take twice as long to get ready since everything that he owned was still packed up. Malfoy, he noticed, was still sound asleep. He didn't know when the blonde had to wake up, and he knew that he would catch hell for waking him, so he tried to be as quiet as he could. He dug his clothes out of a bag and ripped the price tag off. Since he had never worn regular wizarding clothes, Hermione and Mrs. Weasly had taken him shopping. This was the first chance he would have to wear them.

He had already put all of his school supplies, including his books, in his bag, so he didn't have to worry about getting that together. At ten he had Defensive Charms and Spells and Muggle-Wizard Relations at noon. He didn't expect much difficulty with either of them. He had always been good with defense against the dark arts, and Muggle-Wizard Relations was simply Muggle Studies. He had grown up without any mention of magic, there was no way that he could have problems in that class.

His other two classes he was a little worried about. After lunch he had History of the Struggle Against the Dark Arts. He couldn't image anything worse than sitting and listening to the history of the fight that he had become a part of when he was still a baby. He could only imagine the problems when they got to the more recent history. He had read the reports from the daily prophet, he doubted that the rest of the history was any more accurate. His other class was Wizarding Laws and Politics, which he had on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The name alone made him want to curl up in a ball and die.

The first class went by faster than he had expected. He did not have any trouble finding his room and ended up getting there fifteen minutes before the professor. The class was comprised of mostly new students, so it wasn't much of a surprise that it was quiet. People were still trying to make friends, but it seemed that they wanted to figure out who the smart kids were so that they knew who to become friends with. Harry just hoped that his hair had grown long enough to cover up his scar, he hated when people would stare at him because of it.

Very quickly, he was heading towards his second class, Muggle –Wizard Relations. It was held in a small room without air conditioning. It was clear to everyone that it had been added at the last minute and had just been thrown in the only free room available. It was tiny, dark, and uncomfortable. It was already getting full when Harry came in, but more and more people kept coming. By the time class began, all of the seats were taken and there were five people who were standing.

One man rushed in at the very end, hurrying to the front of the classroom. He looked to be just maybe one or two years older than all of the other students, but not enough to really set him apart. The only thing that made Harry think that he might be the teacher was because he was wearing muggle clothing. It didn't surprise him much when the man set a bag down on the desk at the front and turned to address the class. He had hair that had been dyed brown, and not well. His grey eyes seemed older than the rest of him, as if he had spent his life fighting.

"Hello everyone, my name is Professor Ashton. Yes, that is my first name, not my last. If anyone here happens to go snooping around to figure out my last name, you will be removed from the class with a failing grade." he said in a tired but authoritative voice, "I already know that most of you are in this class against your will. I was in your place just a few years ago, only I chose to take the class rather than have it forced on me. Now I'm here, teaching it. Overall, things haven't improved much."

Harry's attention drifted off of the professor, spying on the class. It looked as if about half of the new students were in it. The rest were probably in another class right after this one. He was disappointed to find that Malfoy was in it. Even if he would soon be able to get away from him in the dorm, he would still be stuck in one more class with him.

"We will be spending most of the class learning about muggles. I personally think that the best way to learn about them is to enjoy a wonderful invention that they call television. It means less work for me and more learning for you, it works out perfectly. It shows a variety of social situations. Yes, many of them are blown out of proportion and exaggerated, but you can at least get the basics, like how a cellphone works. With this in mind, we are going to set you guys up in study pairs.

"Now, I'd bet that some of you guys already know everything there is to know about muggles. I'm sure that some of you had aunts or grandparents who were muggles, probably spent the summer with them, or what have you. Can I get all of those people to move over to the right side of the room, my right, not yours."

Harry stood up and moved over to the right side of the room. He was surprised to find many of the other students moving with him. Once they were all paired up, Professor Ashton counted them.

"Alright, very good. Now, all of those little inbred purebloods to the left. Yes, I said it, inbred. If your family tree goes upwards but not outwards, it is a problem." He continued to direct them with his hands, offering up comments when he could "that means you too Draco, scoot! In fact, if you have ever even heard of Slytherin you should probably be over on the left!"

When everyone was on their own sides, Ashton began to pair people up. He would pair one from the left side to one with the right. Harry was ready to collapse to the ground when he discovered that he would be paired with Malfoy. Professor Ashton seemed to do it with delight, commenting on how he knew just how poorly they got along. He did assure Harry that his grade would have absolutely nothing to do with Malfoy's, so he assumed that it was the blonde that his hatred was directed towards.

"Congratulations Draco, you actually have some slim hope of passing this class." Professor Ashton snorted before moving to the next pair.

After that fiasco, he was looking forward to lunch with Hermione even more than before. Where as he was having a terrible time, her life seemed to be looking up. Her roommate was very similar to her. Both of them were majoring in Charms, they were also both bookworms, preferring to spend much time in the library.

"What about your roommate?" Hermione asked him when she got done with her stories.

It took a bit of coaxing, but Hermione eventually got him to spill the story. He tried to focus on how it was only temporary, how they would soon be living with new roommates. She had to agree, keeping the two of them together could easily become a very dangerous situation. The best situation was to split them up. He left out the bit about being paired up for Muggle Studies.

"Besides, most of the times rooms are assigned pretty randomly, right?" Harry asked, "They shouldn't have any trouble moving us."

Hermione bit the inside of her lip, as if there was something that she didn't want to say. He was pretty sure that the resident director wouldn't be happy about having to shuffle students around when they had been living together for less than a day, but that shouldn't make too much difference. Certainly if they explained the situation he would have no choice but to give them different roommates. The boy who lived and the son of a death eater, anyone could see that that was a potentially deadly mix. By the afternoon they would have everything all sorted out. By evening they would be making friends with their new roommates and putting the whole business far behind them

He carried that happy thought with him through the rest of the day, especially when it came to The History of the Struggle Against the Dark Arts. He didn't even notice his time there, it just breezed by. Pretty soon he found himself walking back to his dorm. Soon he and Malfoy would be at the RD's office setting things right. They would have new roommates and he would be so much happier.

"What do you mean no?" Malfoy shouted.

"No, it means no," Toby Williams said, "As in a negative response, a refusal, no! Which part of that is so difficult?"

"You don't understand, we cannot live together," Harry pleaded, "One of us will kill the other in less than a month, you can't do this."

"The room assignments are random anyway, so why is it a big deal?" Malfoy crossed his arms, eyes narrowing in on his target.

"They aren't random, it's a spell that picks the pairs," Williams explained, leaning back against the wall, "It pairs up people based on what's best for them. Like if someone doesn't study it pairs them up with someone who studies a lot."

Harry and Malfoy both turned to each other, the same question running through their minds. What could they possibly have to learn from each other? They were such polar opposites that they wouldn't be able to stand each other long enough to learn anything.

"Or, in your case, maybe the two of you are such insufferable wankers that it thought it best to pair you together so that the other students wouldn't have to deal with you." Williams pushed away from the wall, moving towards the door, "Now, if you don't mind, I have stack of maintenance requests reaching up to the ceiling, so out!"

Harry and Malfoy slunk to the door, neither one wanting to be the first to comment. Almost identical trains of thought were running through their minds. There was no way out of it now, they were stuck together for the rest of the year. They walked back to the room, still silent. The state of shock stayed with them until they reached the room. It didn't really sink in until they got into the room and closed the door.

"No way out of it, is there?" Harry asked, swallowing hard.

"No, I guess not." Malfoy sighed. "Not unless one of us drops dead."

"And your first thought is to kill me, right? Finish off what your father wanted you to do?" Harry crossed his arms.

"I didn't kill you last night, why should tonight be any different?"

"Last night we were just going to spend one night together, now we're stuck for a whole semester. Now you have a better reason." Harry shouted back.

Malfoy stared at Harry, glaring daggers at him. Harry glared back at him, ready to defend himself or go on the offensive at a moments notice. They had hardly been in the same room for ten minutes and they were already about to break out into a fist fight.

"This isn't going to work," Harry sighed, moving over to his bags. He began to unpack, throwing his things on the bed next to the door.

"What the bleeding hell do you think you're doing?" Malfoy demanded, growling. He picked up the things that Harry had put on the bed and tossed them to the floor. "That is my bed!"

"I let you have it last night, that doesn't mean…"

"Too late, Potter, it's my bed, you can't have it." Malfoy placed one of his bags on the bed, officially claiming it as his. He gave Harry one last challenging look before the battle was over.

"Okay, fine, take that bed!" Harry grumbled. This, he could tell, would be a long year.

I hope you enjoyed that chapter. As with before, all review are welcome and greatly appriciated. I'll update again next Friday, hope to see you there!


	3. Lesson 3, Roommates

This update came a day early because I wont be home Friday, and I wanted to make sure that it wasn't late. Enjoy!

* * *

"You should be a politician," Harry commented as he read over a piece of parchment that Malfoy had given him, "I can't find an

"You should be a politician," Harry commented as he read over a piece of parchment that Malfoy had given him, "I can't find anything wrong with it, but I have a strong suspicion that I'm getting screwed."

"Practice makes perfect," Malfoy shrugged.

Early in the morning, while were both trying to get ready at the same time, Harry had realized that there was no way that this would ever work without some agreement between them, a truce if nothing else. Malfoy had offered to draw up an official Malfoy-Potter Treaty, which Harry had thought was a joke. When he got back form class though, he discovered that Malfoy had spent the last hour creating a treaty, hoping to stop some of the arguments that were bound to happen. He had covered every tiny detail, every aspect of living together. Everything from personal property, people visiting, and when they had to have the lights off.

If they both followed the rules, there was still no way that they would be able to get along, but they just might be able to make it through the semester without biting each other's heads off. Then again, seeing as how the first paragraph talked about nothing but punishment, it was possible that even that was too lofty a goal. He would also have to take into account that Malfoy had written it. Apart from there certainly being some bias in it, he would also know every detail of it better than Harry so he'd be able to call him out on every itsy bitsy infraction.

"So you've done these before?" Harry asked, rereading several sections even closer than he had before. Practice may make perfect, but with Malfoy's background that could be a dangerous combination.

"Yeah, Slytherin dorms, there are a lot of pure bloods and a couple of muggleborns. Everyone has to come up with a treaty at the start of the year." Malfoy shrugged, "So yeah, I've done a bunch."

"Just means you know how to abuse it, right?"

"Exactly, now sign it," Malfoy grumbled, "There isn't a single thing that you can say is unfair, until it's implemented anyway, then I'm sure you'll find plenty of problems to whine about."

With a deep sigh, Harry grabbed his quill and signed the parchment. Malfoy was right, there was nothing on it that looked unfair in the least. No sooner had he signed it than Malfoy snatched it out of his hands and signed his name under Harry's signature. In only a moment's time it was affixed to the wall behind the door where it would always be visible. They had both decided that they wanted to keep the door closed at all times, preferring not to have people stare in at them. It was a small victory, but at least they agreed on something.

Once the treaty was up, Harry moved over to his side of the room. Bright magic lines sparkled against the dull floors and walls, marking out three sections of the room. One was Harry's part, outlined in a crimson red similar to the color of Gryffindor. Malfoy had a matching section of the room outlined in the emerald green of Slytherin, and the third section was outlined in a silvery gold. The third section was neutral ground, running along the shared closet to the door. The closet was also divided right down the middle with no question as to where each side ended.

The basic idea of the treaty and the room division seemed to be that they would each leave the other alone, doing the best they could to pretend that they were alone. They began this policy right away, Malfoy moving to unpack the last few bits of his luggage and Harry to grab his most recent birthday present. Ron had really surprised him when he gave Harry an oversized custom poster. If his estimates were correct, it would take up most of his section of the wall.

When he had first found out that his roommate was Malfoy, he had been worried that he wouldn't be able to display the poster, which would have been terrible because Ron had clearly put so much work into it. He had gathered photographs of everyone important to Harry, particularly those who lost their lives in the past few years, and had paid someone magic them together. Now Lupin stood with Sirius on one side, Tonks on the other. Hagrid stood next to Mr. and Mrs. Weasely, the rest of the family off to the side. Dumbledore's image seemed to prefer the corner, Hedwig perched on his shoulder. Ron and Hermione stood in the front of the poster most of the time, Neville and Luna flirting behind them. Now that they had a treaty however, he knew that he could put up the poster without worry.

The first set of actual rules in the treaty, right after the paragraph about punishment, insured that Malfoy couldn't say anything bad about any of Harry's friends or family while he was in the room, though he almost wished that Malfoy would. The paragraph about punishment was notably vague, the only punishment that was really off limits was making someone do someone else's homework. Even physical punishment was considered okay. This in particular sent evil little thoughts of torturing Malfoy running through Harry's mind. For now though, he would have to focus on making sure that he obeyed all of the rules. He did not want to find out what Malfoy thought would be a fair and just punishment. More than likely he had gotten ideas from the wonderful Mr. Filch.

"Should have put something in about room decoration," Malfoy mumbled just loud enough for Harry to hear. "Didn't think you'd have some huge thing like that."

"Maybe you just shouldn't think, you aren't that good at it," Harry smiled, feeling like he was in charge of the situation. It was a rare feeling when it came to the blonde, but he enjoyed it while it lasted. Soon he would find some way to take that feeling away, he always did. For the moment though, his only retaliation was to make a disgusted face and turn around.

After making sure that the poster would stay up, Harry looked around the room for something to do. His only homework was to sign up for a subscription to the Daily Prophet, a requirement for his Wizarding Laws and Politics class. Other than that, he had escaped without any assignments. That in it's self was a small miracle. On the downside, it also left him with nothing to do. His room was perfectly organized since he hadn't had a chance to mess it up yet, so he couldn't clean it. All of the games he had required another player, and he didn't know anyone in Bengal Hall except for Malfoy, who would probably cheat anyway. The only books that he had brought were his text books, he hadn't counted on having much free time.

"Stop pacing," Malfoy grumbled, climbing onto his bed with a tattered paperback book.

"I don't remember anything in the rules about pacing." Harry crossed his arms. There were several things that weren't in the rules now that he thought about it. One thing in particular was talking. Malfoy had written the treaty with the assumption that they wouldn't want to talk to each other unless absolutely necessary, so he hadn't put anything in the rules about it. This could be a deadly mistake.

"Hey, Malfoy, the Muggle Studies professor, he knows you from somewhere, doesn't he?" Harry had a seat on his bed. He knew that he shouldn't stir up trouble. He understood that it was a terrible idea to harass Malfoy, and he was certain it would come back to bite him in the ass, but he was bored and it was far too early to go to bed.

"What gave it away?" Malfoy asked, looking away from the book, "The fact that he used my first name or how he hates me?"

"Do most people who know you hate you?" Harry's mind traveled back in time to a familiar phrase on the Hogwarts seal. Roughly translated, it read 'never tickle a sleeping dragon.' This was probably the best advice he had ever gotten from anyone, but he had never been one for listening to advice.

"Only the ones who know me well enough,"

"Is he related to you? It would explain why he used your first name," Harry pressed.

"Are you trying to make me kill you?" Malfoy asked, eyes changing from bored to dangerous, "Or are you trying to make sure that you fail his class. Anyone who figures out his last name gets an F, just remember that."

"So he is related to you, I guess that explains why he can't stand his last name."

This time Malfoy didn't respond to Harry's harassment. Instead, he reached into his bag and pulled out a parchment. It was thicker than most, and Harry had no doubt that it had some sort of spell to it. He tapped it with his wand and the room was filled with music. Loud songs from some band or another blasted, drowning out any attempt at conversation. There was a rule that stated if Harry asked Malfoy to turn the music down, he would have no choice but to comply. It ran through his mind to ask for it, but his better judgment won out. He had already bothered him enough for one day. He was hoping to get through the year, there was no need to make the start any worse than he already had.

Once it became clear that Harry was no longer interested in talking, Malfoy tapped the parchment again, shutting the music off. They spent the rest of the evening in silence, each of them attempting to occupy themselves quietly. Harry had decided to flip through his text books, finding all of them dull. Malfoy continued to read the tattered paperback. Considering the pristine condition of everything else the boy owned, Harry thought that the book looked very out of place, but he wouldn't dare ask about it.

The hopes of them surviving the semester seemed to improve when Harry discovered that they both went to bed at just about the same time. Harry going to sleep at eleven forty-five, and Malfoy crawling into bed at midnight. They were just starting to get comfortable when they heard some odd sound in the room. Harry glanced to his side, thinking that Malfoy had leaped out of bed, but after a moment he realized that the sound had come from above him. Having lived in Gryffindor tower, he never had truly experienced what it was like to have people sleeping above him. Sure, there were other Gryffindors, but there were layers of magic between the floors that prevented sound from coming through. With a deep sigh, he turned over and tried to ignore the sounds.

"What are they doing up there?" Harry mumbled without meaning to. From the sounds of it, they had to be jumping up and down, or maybe they were learning tap-dancing, or something else that required a lot of stomping.

"I don't know, but they need to stop!" Malfoy growled.

Harry yawned and nodded, forgetting that the Slytherin wouldn't be looking at him. Once he did realize it, he didn't feel like responding anymore, so he just sat there and listened to the pounding. After his eyes began to adjust to the dim room, he started to get a little worried. The ceilings were the type with the foam tiles that he remembered from public school, held together by thin strips of metal. With each extra loud thump the tiles shifted just a bit. He watched the tile closely, thinking about just what a terrible idea these ceilings were. One of the tiles could fall out so easily. They were foam, so it wasn't like they would actually hurt anyone, but Harry didn't want to think about the filth that must be hidden behind them. He had seen the back of one of the tiles before in school. Dudley had chased him around a classroom until Harry sought refuge by climbing the bookshelf in the corner. Not paying attention to how high he was in relation to the ceiling, he had accidentally lifted up one of the tiles with his head. Something had skittered away when the light from the room poured in, but he had no idea what it was and he honestly didn't want to know. That had happened in a nice school, well maintained and meticulously cleaned. He tried not to think about what might be above the tiles in this school.

He shut his eyes tightly, trying to rid himself of the image of the tile falling on his head. Instead, he tried to think about it falling on Malfoy's head. That would be entertaining. It would still be disgusting seeing as how the tiles had to be holding up ages of dirt and grime, but at least he would get a good laugh out of it. He was so caught up in the mental image of the tile falling on Malfoy's head that he missed hearing the loudest thump of them all.

Without warning, something smacked Harry in the face, not enough to hurt him, but enough to startle him. He shot up in bed, flinging something large and rectangular across his bed. The light nearest Malfoy's bed came on and Harry could see exactly what had happened. Just as he had expected, a ceiling tile had fallen on top of him. Sitting up had sent it across his covers, spreading the dust that had collected on top of the tile for years all across his sheets. While it was not the worst day of his life, it was quickly becoming the most irritating. He was broken out of his thoughts by the sounds of laugher across the room. Malfoy was red in the face, trying to hold himself back but failing miserably. Harry could just imagine the picture he made.

"This isn't funny," Harry grumbled, trying to figure out the best way to get out of his bed without spreading the last bits of dust still clinging to the tile.

"Yes, it is," Malfoy corrected, doubled over in laugher. He would begin to get himself under control, look at Harry, and end up laughing even harder than before. After what seemed like forever, he finally managed to sit up again. Almost as if on cue, another extra loud thump came from upstairs. Harry mentally braced himself for yet another tile to fall on him, but nothing did.

"OUCH!!" Malfoy shouted. Harry spun his head around to see Malfoy holding the back of his head in pain. One of the thin metal strips that the tiles balanced on was dangling from the ceiling, one end reaching right to the back of his bleached head. Two tiles wobbled above him for a moment before one wafted downwards, landing behind him and spilling out all of the dust onto his pillow.

This time it was Harry's chance to burst out in laugher. He didn't even try to control himself, it was the perfect payback for Malfoy laughing at him. It couldn't have worked out any better if he had planned it. The look on his face was priceless, a mixture of shock, pain, and humiliation. Harry moved to wipe a tear from his eye just in time to block an attack.

Harry spun around to see Malfoy holding the part of the ceiling that had fallen on him, using it as an odd mixture between a sword and a whip to lash out at Harry. Without even thinking, Harry grabbed the tile that had fallen on him and used it as a shield, blocking the strikes as best he could. The battle ended when Malfoy's arm got tired and they both decided that they needed to clean up before going to bed. With the work of just a handful of spells, they had their beds cleaned up, but only a shower could get the filth off of their bodies.

Harry groaned, he hated showering in public. It wasn't that he was ashamed of his body, well, not anymore. It had started off like that, embarrassed by his stick-figure like physique with bones jutting out. But now he just hated it because it always brought up so many questions, though he would never admit it to any living soul. He hadn't even discussed his thoughts with Hermione, let alone Ron. Right around fifth or sixth year, he had taken an interest in exactly what the other guys in the shower looked like. It wasn't anything sexual, at least that was what he always told himself. It was natural for a guy to look at other guys, to use them as a comparison if nothing else.

But if it was so normal and natural, why hadn't he seen any of the other guys do it? Sure, everyone stared at each other's bumps and bruises after practice, offering advice on how to get the swelling down faster, but they never seemed to even notice the uninjured areas. Harry was always terrified that they would spot him looking over at one of the other guys. He knew that they would get the wrong impression, and he didn't want to deal with people discussing his sexuality. It already happened, people questioned his lack of a girlfriend all the time, and the discussion continued even after he started dating Ginny. When the two of them broke up during the summer the gossip was filled with stories of Harry's "secret gay lover." Harry seemed to be the only one who believed that he was straight.

Without meaning to, Harry looked over his shoulder in the shower, spotting Malfoy. The slim blonde was leaning heavily against the wall, looking ready to fall asleep any moment. Harry took a moment to look him over without questioning his intention. He was surprised to find that the Slytherin was perfectly muscled to be a seeker. Lean tight muscles seemed to flow under his skin with each breath he took. Long arms stretched out from his torso, one of them holding his body far enough away from the wall for the water to reach him. As Harry examined lower, he felt a blush come to his cheeks. He turned away, refusing to think about anything until he got some sleep. Again, he reminded himself that he was not gay.

* * *

Thank you very much for reading. Like this chapter, the next update will be on Thursday. I'll be at Anime USA on Friday and I don't want it to be late. I try to keep myself on a scedual so that I don't randomly stop posting the chapters for a long period of time like I've done with almost every other story that I've written. I hope that you continue reading and enjoy the story. (And yes, reviews are still loved)


	4. Lesson 4, Extracurricular Activities

As the first week came to a close, Harry was feeling pretty comfortable in the new school. He still got lost going to class sometimes, and he wasn't sure that he would ever be able to figure out the organization system in the library, but he was beginning to feel more at home than he had been when he had first arrived. He had made several tentative friendships in his classes, mostly in his Defense against Dark Hexes and Jinxes class where he had quickly proven himself to be one of the best students in the class. Much of what they were learning he had already learned the hard way, so it seemed that everyone wanted to study with him.

There was one girl in particular who seemed extra interested in being his study partner, possibly even more than that. Her name was Janna Metcalf. She was a pretty girl, though nothing about her truly sparked an interest in Harry. She had long brown hair that reached down to her waist. It curled down over her shoulders, framing her face perfectly. Her body was big and small in all the right places, her robes hanging off of her perfectly from listening in on other people's conversations, Harry had learned that most of the other boys in the class considered her to be the best looking girl in the school. He had no idea what they were talking about.

Harry had met her on the first day of class and she made it very clear that she had an interest in him. He was fairly certain that it was just his name. He had occasionally gotten marriage proposals in the mail from girls he had never even met, so he was used to the idea. He knew that he would have told her right from the start that he didn't want any sort of relationship with her, but she had simply asked him to help her study. She was behind, and Harry was doing exceptionally well in the class, so he decided to take her up on her offer.

"Just make sure that you don't give her the wrong impression," Hermione warned during their lunch together.

"I wont, I'm just going to help her study." Harry reassured her. Hermione had not been a big fan of the idea. Apparently, in her old school, Janna had earned herself a reputation, and not a good one. There was even a bet going on with some students in her old school on if she'd make it through her first year before getting knocked up. Even the ones who said that she would make it through one year were certain that she wouldn't make it through her second.

"Just be careful."

"Hermione," Harry turned to look at her, a very serious expression on his face, "I know that she's only interested in my name. I'm not going to forget that."

"I just don't want you to get hurt, that's all." She sighed heavily and gathered up her books, "I need to get back to my homework, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you then," Harry sighed, getting up as well. He knew that she didn't believe him. She was absolutely certain that he'd fall for her charms and forget all about who she was. She was wrong, he knew good and well where he stood.

Hermione's words were still echoing through his head when he finished has last class. He tried to shake them, but he still had trouble coping with the thought that his best friend didn't believe that he could handle himself. He knew that they would only get worse when he got to the library. He and Janna were supposed to meet there in the Defense Against the Dark Arts section of the library to start their studying.

When he stepped in the room, he saw Janna sitting at a desk already. She was wearing even less clothing than normal. Her shirt was low cut, exposing most of her chest and the very tops of her bra. Her skirt did little to hide anything, the pleats opening up just enough to reach the chair. Her hair was pulled behind her shoulders and her face had enough makeup on it that it could easily have been someone's art project. If there was any doubt in his mind before of what she wanted from him, it was gone. This girl looked like someone from the calendars that got passed around the Gryffindor common room, the ones that no one would admit to owning.

"Alright, lets get started," Harry put his books down on the table, doing his best to ignore what she looked like. He figured that most boys his age would have found it very difficult to concentrate, distracted by her body. He just found it disgusting that she would stoop to this level. It was very clear how she had gotten that reputation at her old school.

The entire study session was very uncomfortable. She found every excuse she could to lean over, breasts almost spilling out of her too-tight shirt. She would use her arms to squish them closer together, presumably to make them more alluring. To Harry, it just reminded him of a butt crack. Halfway through the session, she seemed to realize that her tricks weren't working, so she stepped it up a notch, playing with the end of her quill in her mouth.

"Okay, so I guess what they say about you is true," Janna grumbled. She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest, "I didn't believe it, but I guess that the boy wonder is gay."

"No," Harry said with a deep sigh, "I'm not gay, I just know that you don't have any interest in me except for my name. I don't see why that should turn me on."

Janna laughed and leaned in closer, "And no boy has ever been interested in more than my body, I don't see what the problem is. I'm looking for a good time, not a lifelong commitment."

"I think that we should quit for today," Harry said hurriedly. He grabbed at his supplies, hands shaking. He couldn't be sure why, but he knew that he had to leave. He did not like the direction that this conversation was going in.

After leaving the library, he rushed back to his room. He couldn't say that he was the least bit surprised when he saw that Malfoy was there. In the past week, Harry wasn't sure that he had ever seen him leave the room except to eat or go to class. Other than that, he mostly stayed at his desk, doing homework or writing letters. After closing the door, Harry scanned over the treaty, disappointed to find that he could not ask Malfoy to leave. He just needed a little bit of time alone to get everything sorted out.

"Don't you have class or something?" Harry asked.

"No," Malfoy said without looking away from the parchment he was writing on.

"Quidditch tryouts are tomorrow, shouldn't you be practicing?" Harry tried again.

"No," Malfoy moved away from his desk, "Potter, my parents are both on trial and will certainly be sent to Azkaban if they aren't given the Dementors Kiss. The ministry is expecting me to be the star witness against them so that I don't get sent to Azkaban too. I am going to be the head of the family, forced to keep the peace between the half of my family that supported the dark arts and the half that wants to kill them. On top of that, I have classes and all of the other fun that goes along with school. I can honestly say that I have no time for Quidditch, so quit trying to get me to leave the room because it wont work."

Harry took a step back, not expecting the outburst. It was hardly new information to him. The Daily Prophet had been publishing stories about the Death Eater trials every day, the Malfoy name was mentioned in almost every article. Everyone in the school knew about what was going on in Draco's family, only no one was willing to ask him about it.

"You haven't really made any friends here, have you?" Harry asked. He remembered the feeling of loneliness, of having something terrible happening in your life but having no one to turn to.

"No, don't have any, don't need any," Malfoy growled at him, "Now go away, I have to answer letters from relatives I didn't even know that I had until a month ago."

"Well, um, I know that you hate me, and I hate you too, but if you ever need anything…"

"Potter," Malfoy pushed his chair away from the desk so that he could get a better look at the boy, "I'm only going to say this once, so I hope that you understand. I know that you are a Gryffindor, and I know that you think you are a hero. I understand that those two things make you a self-righteous prick who seems to think you have to save the poor pitiful Slytherin, but get this through your head! I don't need saving, I don't need help. All I need is to be left alone!"

"Sorry I said anything," Harry moved away. This day, he decided, was not worth getting out of bed for.

The next morning, Harry was not surprised to find that the story of how he turned down Janna had spread around campus and had mutated into an entirely different tale. Harry tries as hard as he could, but he couldn't seem to remember slapping her, spitting at her feet, or even screaming at her. Still, he had apparently done all of those things. It also stirred up rumors of his sexuality again. Five people had reported to have seen him kissing men, one boy even claimed to have "spent the night making passionate love to Mr. Potter last Thursday." He tried to ignores the stories, telling himself that he had been through worse. Compared to what had been published about him in the past, this was nothing.

Since it was Saturday, he didn't have to deal with classes, so he could avoid people for most of the day. He did have to try out for Quidditch though, so he did have to show his face for that. The field was at the opposite end of the campus. As he headed down there, everyone kept looking over at him, turning away, and whispering. He tried to tell himself that he was imagining things, but he knew that his nonexistent sex life was the talk of the campus. He could hear the laughs, but he tried to push them out of his mind. No one had started making pins about the issue, so it wasn't the worst that he had dealt with.

When he arrived at the Quidditch field, Harry was disappointed to find that he was the last one there. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long for the tryouts to begin. The captain took the field and began shouting out the basic instructions. There would be two parts to trying out. The first would just be drills. Speed drills, agility drills, just basic things to make sure that everyone was up to par.

"If you are not absolutely amazing at this game, leave now and don't waste my time again!" The captain called out, "Assuming you actually know how to use a broom, we'll be testing for positions. We need thirteen players, six to fill all of the positions except for mine, and seven backups."

"What's his position?" Harry whispered to the man standing next to him. From the looks of his clothing, he had either been on the team last year or was an enormous fan. Either way, he would know the answer.

"Seeker, damn good one too," The man answered back.

Harry nodded, feeling as sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. He tried to focus on the good. There was still the position of being a backup available, and the higher competition level meant that there was a good chance that a backup would be needed. If a player was not in their absolute top form, they were useless as a seeker. He would still get a chance to play, and that was all he cared about.

"Alright, everyone, line up at this end of the field," The captain pointed behind him, "Then when I say go, you will race to the other end and back."

Harry nodded, taking a position in the middle of the line. He wasn't worried, he was excellent at speed, so this task should be nothing for him. The broom hovered with his tips of his toes just scraping the top of the grass. Everyone here was larger than him, he noticed as he looked up and down the row, but he figured that he could use that to his advantage when it came to the agility.

"GO!" the captain shouted.

Harry zoomed away from the start line, urging his broom to go as fast as it could. He had gotten the newest style of broom over the summer, the Phoenix 2300, and he could feel the power beneath his hands. He raced towards the edge, relishing the feel of the wind blowing in his hair, the polished wood on his fingers. Flying, he decided, was one of the few things that truly relaxed him, but this was not a time to be relaxed.

The other end of the field was closing in, Harry got ready to turn, He glanced on either side of him to see just how much room he had to maneuver. He was surprised to find that he the players seemed to have separated by two groups, faster and slower. Harry was between the two groups. While he was disappointed not to be the fastest, he knew that it gave him more room to turn, so he could do it faster. As soon as he got out of the turn, he would really race, ignoring everything around him.

Harry spun around as fast as he could, almost leaving himself dizzy. He leaned in close to his broom, rushing faster. The finish line was getting closer, but he could only go so fast. By the time he got there, most of the faster group had already finished. The captain didn't seem to be overly impressed, focusing more on the slower students. Once they finished, he called out a few names and told them to leave the field. Harry was happy to learn that he hadn't been kicked out, at least not yet.

"Everyone else, time for agility!" The captain explained, waving his wand towards the middle of the field. Where it had once been open, large golden rings of magic appeared. They formed an intricate path that wound across the field. "You will only be able to see three rings at a time, the one right in front of you, and the two after that. If you miss one, you have to go back and fly through it or else no more will appear. It's the same idea as before, be the first one back here."

When the agility race began, Harry was off with a start. He raced, not keeping track of where everyone was. He just focused on the rings. He knocked into a few people, and he felt a couple of people bump against his legs as everyone bottlenecked through the rings. He almost missed one, but he managed lashed out with his leg. Enough of his foot went through the ring that it counted, and he aimed for the center of the next one.

By the end of the race, Harry was exhausted. Flying with so many other people so close was much more difficult than he had expected. He hadn't realized how much space he really needed to move the way he did on the field. He felt confined, unable to really move, but he pressed forward, certain that everyone else was dealing with the same problem.

Again, he wasn't in the first few crossing the line, he was back towards the end. As much as it frustrated him, he tried to tell himself that it was not a good measure of his skill, that he did so much better when he was out in the open field. He sighed heavily and listened as a couple more were asked to leave.

"Alright, now everyone trying out for seekers, come over here!" The captain yelled. Harry moved over towards the captain, hoping that not many other people would. Five other people came forward with him, so there would be six people trying out for one slot.

There were several tasks that the seekers had to do before the captain chose. They redid the agility challenge first. Without as many people around him, Harry was able to move better, pushing towards the front of the group. There was only one person ahead of him, a tall redhead with lengthy arms, perfect for reaching out and grabbing the snitch. He would be the one to beat. Their next task was diving. They went up above the field, all at the same level, the captain stood down at the bottoms. At his signal, all of the wannabe seekers dove downwards, headed directly towards the ground. Whoever was the fastest and went the closest to the ground, would win this challenge. A smirk came to Harry's face, he was good at this.

Harry and the redhead were neck and neck, baring down on the ground. They were getting close, but neither one was willing to pull up before the other. The ground was rushing towards them, coming so quickly that Harry was certain he would crash. They were only a couple of feet away, but the redhead wasn't pulling up. Harry continued diving for as long as he could, but he flinched upwards just moments before the redhead, putting him in second place again.

Three of the seekers were told to leave. Harry, the redhead, and a girl were the only ones left. A snitch was released and the three of them took off. As they searched, the other players tried out for their positions. This part, Harry knew, was what he succeeded at. He rose up above the field, searching for any tiny bit of movement, a flash of gold. He just had to focus, pay attention to the game and forget all about the tryouts. If he could do that, he was sure that he would win.

* * *

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, the next one will be up on Friday (not tomorrow though, the NEXT Friday) assuming that my beta edits them in time hint hint!. Dont worry, she's an incredibly awesome person and I know that she will, I just like bugging her about it! Don't forget that good and bad reviews are both welcome!


	5. Lesson 5, Campus Rumors

Cheers and congratulations echoed off of the bare walls of the locker room, making the noise almost unbearably loud

Cheers and congratulations echoed off of the bare walls of the locker room, making the noise almost unbearably loud. Harry smiled, if only to keep from screaming at the top of his lungs. The loudest of the group, the people who had made the team, were back in the main section of the locker room. Harry had moved to the showers along with everyone else who hadn't made the final cut. Many of them were bitter about it, he could see it in their eyes.

"I would have caught the quaffle if that other guy hadn't hit my arm," One of them grumbled.

"Yeah, well I heard that you don't have a shot at getting on the team if you aren't friends with the captain," Another hissed, "It doesn't matter how good you are."

Harry sighed, trying not to get caught up in it. People had said the same thing about him when he had been captain at Hogwarts, especially when Ron made the team. It was very possible that they were just disappointed and were venting their rage. Instead, he tried to focus on the feeling of the lukewarm water rushing over him. He could feel the tension flowing out of his body, circling the drain. It felt so good to stand under a shower, even if it wasn't nearly as hot as he would have liked it to be. He told himself that just because he wasn't on the team didn't mean that he couldn't enjoy the game. He could still go to the matches, and he could still fly on the field whenever the team wasn't practicing. He had been out of practice, so maybe next year he'd be able to make the cut.

"Look who we have here," One of the new team members sneered as he walked around the wall that separated the main locker room from the showers, "So, Potter, the things that they've been saying about you…"

"They aren't true," Harry shook his head, glad that someone was finally confronting him about it and not just whispering behind his back. Maybe this way he'd be able to get people to realize how wrong they were.

"I'm not sure I believe that," Another new teammate said , appearing behind the first guy. They were both big, built like tanks, and almost identical to each other. The second man was slightly larger, but not by much. Harry recognized their type immediately, the two thugs who always stayed together, arms as big as tree trunks but combined IQ's as small as a grain of sand. This, he realized, is what Crabbe and Goyle would have grown up to be if both of them had survived.

"I heard that Metcalf offered you a good time," The bigger one said.

"And you turned her down," The second one finished.

"That part's true," Harry admitted. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up as he realized that all attention was on him. Apart from the sound of water splattering against flesh and tile, everything had gone silent in the shower. "I didn't shag her, doesn't mean anything."

"Oh yes it does," The first thug insisted.

"I'm not gay," Harry almost growled, "I don't like guys, I like girls, but only nice ones, not some stupid tart who throws herself at anything with a cock!"

"Sure," the second oaf laughed, brushing past Harry to get to the shower.

"You sure you really want to shower with Potter around?" The first one smirked, leaning against the wall and adjusting the towel around his waist.

"Yeah, I'll give the kid a peep show," The second laughed, "Come on Potter, you know you want to."

Fury raged inside of Harry. He shut his eyes tightly and shoved his head under the spray of water. He rinsed the shampoo from his hair as fast as he could, wanted to be out of the shower immediately. As he left, the first man who had started harassing him was still leaning on the wall. Harry gave his head a good shake as he passed by him, spraying him with water. He shouted out some sort of comment, but Harry was already too far gone to make out the words.

He was sick of it! For years he had dealt with rumors. He was insane, he was just seeking attention, a liar, a thief, a murderer, and now that he had put all of those outlandish stories to rest, he was apparently gay. All he wanted to do was have one year, just one year, without so many stories going around about him. In the past he had never been able to prove people wrong, not until something terrible happened anyway. This time though, this time he could. He could put all of the stories to rest right away, all he had to do was find Janna.

Part of him screamed out against what he was about to do, yelled about how wrong everything was. He knew that he shouldn't be seeking her out, that he was right to reject her the first time. Not only did he lack an emotional attachment to her, he didn't even feel physically attracted to her. The way she put her body on display sickened him, but that didn't matter anymore. He was going to get rid of these rumors, and this was the only way that he could think of.

After searching for about a half an hour, Harry spotted Janna in the library's defense section where they had recently been studying. Today though, she was studying with someone who seemed much more interested in what she was offering. She was leaning over, almost spilling out of her low cut shirt the same way that she had been with Harry, only the student across from her was not looking at the paragraph in the book that she was pointing out to him. Harry swallowed hard and stepped forward, making his presence known.

"Oh, Harry!" she sounded surprised, sitting up quickly. The boy she was with seemed greatly disappointed.

"Hey, Janna, can I talk to you for a bit?" Harry swallowed again, realizing how hard this was going to be.

"Yeah, sure!" She smiled, hopping out of her seat. The movement made her large breasts flop around, uncontained by any bra. It reminded Harry of how Duddly's rolls of fat had quivered and jiggled before he lost the weight. That thought alone made him feel sick to his stomach.

He led her far enough away that her "study partner" wouldn't be able to listen in. He wasn't certain how to start off asking her for something that even he didn't want. He had sort of hoped that she would pester him about it again and that he could just agree, but it seemed that she wanted him to do the propositioning. She stood next to him, hands on her hips and chest thrust outward. A strong blush came to Harry's cheeks, which Janna took to be a good sign that he would get what she wanted. In actuality, Harry was just embarrassed about talking to a woman like her.

"I'm sorry about how I acted yesterday," Harry forced a smile, "I've never really been offered anything like that before, I guess it just took me by surprise."

"Aww," Janna reached out, brushing some of Harry's damp hair out of his face. He leaned in a little closer, ignoring the fact that he wanted to be as far away from her as possible.

"I was wondering if maybe you'd like to do something sometime," Harry blushed even harder, wishing that he had kept his mouth shut. He wasn't known for being smooth or as a sweet talker, but that was possibly the worst line that he could have come up with.

"Mr. Potter!" Janna said with sarcastic offence, "Are you coming on to me?"

"Well, yeah," Harry took another step closer, reaching out to put his hand on her shoulder.

"Then how about we go do something right now?" She leaned in seductively, leaving only a small gap between their bodies.

"What about your study partner?" Harry asked, glancing over to see that the boy was absolutely fuming at him. Let him be mad, Harry thought, he'll tell everyone on campus how Harry Potter stole the girl that he was flirting with. Let's see what that does for those gay rumors!

"Oh, him," She said with a bit of disgust, "He's worthless anyway. I'm sure that I'll learn much more with you."

She reached down and grabbed his hand in hers, their fingers intertwining as she pulled him back towards the desk. She muttered some quick comments to her study partner and gathered up her things. The entire time she focused on Harry.

"So, where do you want to go?" He asked, feeling nervous. He supposed that it was normal to feel nervous, this was his first time. He and Ginny had never gone that far in their relationship, they had never had an opportunity to even if they had been comfortable with it. Ultimately though, they had decided that kissing each other was a little too weird, they loved each other more as friends or siblings, which had led to a very clean breakup with no hurt feelings.

"Well, my dorm is an all girls dorm, boys aren't permitted inside for any reason at all, so it will have to be your room," She pulled him close to her.

Harry wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her flush against his body. With one finger, he lifted her chin up and kissed her. Her lips were soft, like apples that had gone bad. They tasted like over-sugared strawberries and left him with a dirty feeling on his own lips. He pushed those thoughts aside though. He was not gay and he knew that he had to prove it by sleeping with her. She opened her mouth, trying to deepen the kiss. As much as he didn't want to, Harry obliged. Her mouth tasted like a ham sandwich, so disgusting that Harry was tempted to make her chew some gum or at least have a breath mint before he kissed her again, but he doubted that those suggestions would go over well.

"My place it is then," He said in what he hoped was a seductive voice.

They walked arm in arm across campus, Janna leaning in every few steps to kiss Harry on the cheek incase there was any question as to where the two were going and exactly what they would be doing once they got there. As they walked past people, Harry heard the same increased whispering as before, only now he knew that they weren't saying that he was gay. A smile came to his face, a true one this time, though it had nothing to do with Janna in any way.

As they entered Bengal Hall, Harry's pulse quickened. This was it, he was going to actually go through with it. He was going to sleep with a girl that he didn't even know. He felt sick and scared, but reminded himself that that was normal. Every guy felt nervous their first time, and the fact that the girl had so much experience wasn't going to help matters either. He took a deep calming breath and headed up the stairs. Part of him still screamed out against it, and he did agree with that part, but he had to do this. If he didn't the rumors would only get worse. Soon they would spread from the school to the Daily Prophet. They went over the Daily Prophet every day Wizarding Laws and Politics, he would be forced to discuss the world's view on his sexuality with a class full of students. His heart was pounding as he reached the door to his room.

This was it, there was absolutely no turning back now. A million worries rushed through his head. What if he wasn't good? What if she got pregnant? Did she have any protection? He knew that he didn't. What if he couldn't perform? He knew that stress could do that to a man, and he had more than enough stress to cause all sorts of problems. What if he couldn't perform because he just wasn't interested? Did that make him gay? No, he knew that he wasn't gay, he wouldn't have had a crush on Cho for all of those years if he was gay, he would have had a crush on some guy. What would happen if things didn't go well, would she tell everyone?

With yet another hard swallow, Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the key. The million worries still flew through his mind like wasps, stinging him. As he unlocked the door, he swung it open, and there was Draco Malfoy sitting at his desk.

"Malfoy," Harry grumbled, "could you um, leave?"

Malfoy lifted his head up slowly, as if he really did not want to take his attention away from whatever dull assignment he was working on. He eyed Harry for a moment before looking at the girl. His gaze traveled down to their interlocked hands. He raised an eyebrow and looked back up to Harry's face.

"No,"

Harry's jaw dropped. He tried to come up with something to say, but he couldn't remember those things, what were they called? Words, that's what they were. Nothing came into his mind as he tried to come up with some sort of argument.

"Malfoy," He insisted, "I'll make it up to you somehow, but please, I just need you to leave for a while."

"And I need a private room, or at least a better roommate, more hours in the day, a larger bed, easier classes, and some sort of cute pet wandering around the room, but none of that seems to be popping up. Seeing as how this place doesn't magically spawn what we think we need, I guess you're stuck." Malfoy shrugged and looked back at his desk.

Janna let go of Harry's hand, a disgusted look on her face. She took a few steps forward, leaning over Malfoy's shoulder, her huge breasts resting on his back. "Better yet, I'll make it up to you."

Malfoy turned around again, examining her more closely this time.

"Do you honestly believe that you have anything that you could offer me?" he snorted, "Why would I want anything to do with a tramp like you. If I wanted to, I could have anyone I wanted, willing, able, and a hell of a lot more talented than you. Potter, please tell your cheap slut that her implants are starting to poke me."

Janna stood up, offended. She looked to Harry, probably expecting him to defend what little honor she might still have. Most of it had been lost long ago, but perhaps some had gotten stuck to the bottom of her shoe as she traipsed across campus.

"Malfoy, please, what do I have to do to get you to leave?" Harry asked, " I'll beg if I have to."

"Absolutely nothing," Malfoy shrugged, "There is absolutely nothing that you can do to make me leave, it's in the rules. You can feel free to do whatever you want on your side, don't let me stop you."

Harry leaned back, shocked at the idea. Janna, on the other hand, didn't seem too surprised at all. For a moment, he actually thought that she expected him to go through with it, but he knew that he couldn't. He could just imagine what it would be like, Malfoy glancing over and making comments, or worse yet, suggestions. He shook his head, trying to dislodge the thought from his mind.

"You had better go," Harry said, dropping Janna's hand and trying his best to look disappointed. Inside, he realized that he couldn't be any luckier. He had gotten rid of any rumors that he was gay, although there was no conclusive evidence. He still had his virginity and he didn't have to do anything so disgusting as sleep with Janna.

"Why did you do that?" Harry asked, not sure which answer he wanted.

"Don't tell me you honestly wanted to shag that thing?" Malfoy looked disgusted at the idea. "Then again, I should have let you, think of the headlines, 'Desperate to dispel gay-rumors, Potter shags first girl he can get a leg over.' I really should have left."

"Thanks," Harry sighed, "I really wasn't thinking."

"Let me know if you ever start thinking, I want to see if smoke comes out or if you just explode."

I hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter (and yes, my awesome beta came through as I knew she would). At the moment, I'm going to set the update date for next Friday, but I may not acheive that. My mother is currently in the ICU and she'll be there for the next few days. She'll be fine, she just needs a lot of care at the moment. I should have the update up on Friday unless all things go to hell in a handbasket. Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed the chapter, and don't forget to review!


	6. Lesson 6, Classes

Harry sat up in bed, giving up on going to sleep

Harry sat up in bed, giving up on going to sleep. A quick glance at his watch told him that it was just past four in the morning, he had class in a couple of hours. He had thought that his recent insomnia would get better with time, but it had been over a month since he had gotten a decent nights sleep. While the world had stopped questioning his sexuality, he had only just begun. It had started not long after the incident with Janna. He knew that he had no interest in her body what so ever, which was odd seeing as how every other boy in school seemed desperate for it. After that, he had started looking at other girls, trying to see if he had any interest in them. They were attractive, he couldn't deny that they were astoundingly beautiful, but it didn't stir up any more emotions than if he had looked at a pretty flower. None of them stirred up the lust that he had been hoping for.

Even worse were the dreams. During the few instances that he had been able to fall asleep, Harry had been plagued with nightmarish yet oddly erotic dreams. He would find himself in a bed, a warm body flush against his, bringing him more pleasure than he had thought possible, but it was too dark to see who it was. He could see arms and legs, the outline of a torso, but nothing that could even identify the figure as male or female, it was driving him insane! After waking up from one of those dreams he knew that he would be happy to be gay, just so long as he had the answer.

The sleepless nights were beginning to affect his classes too. He was still doing alright in Defense Against Dark Hexes and Jinxes, but he was falling behind in some of the others. In The History of the Struggle Against the Dark Arts they were just getting up to the first time Voldemort had risen to power. Soon they would be learning about Harry's parents. While he knew what had happened and could undoubtedly teach the lesson better than the professor, he knew the truth, not the history. If The Daily Prophet had taught him anything, it was that the truth and history were rarely the same. He dreaded when the time came to learn about himself.

He had already fallen asleep once in Wizarding Laws and Politics, missing out on several important court cases that they had to know for the test. In the book there were descriptions of them, but he needed Hermione to translate it into a form of English that he could understand. He had also taken several naps in Muggle-Wizard Relations, but he had all of the answers anyway and Professor Ashton had thought it was funny. He had even joked about adding a couple of beds in the back for the students who have lived with muggles, if the ever got a big enough room.

With a deep sigh and another glance at his watch, Harry laid back down again. He had to get some sleep, it didn't have to be much, but just a bit would do. He wished that he had someone to talk to, but he knew better than to mention his worries to Ron or Hermione. Ron would despise him right away, reject him. At least it would be quick though, like ripping a bandaid off of a skinned knee. Hermione wouldn't ever flat out reject him, but it would become so uncomfortable to be around her that the end result would be the same. He didn't want to place those burdens on his friends.

Harry sat at his desk, staring down at the text book in front of him and wondering if he was starting to get dusty from sitting still so long. His Wizarding Law book stared back up at him, taunting him and keeping all of its secrets from him. He couldn't even express his frustration in coherent words. He hated being in that class, absolutely despised it to no end. They spent half of the time talking about the distorted articles in The Daily Prophet, which amounted to no more than gossip. He tried to pay attention, he tried to do his homework, but it seemed like the more he tried the less he succeeded. Fury bubbled over inside him, threatening to boil over. He grabbed the book off of the table and threw it over his shoulder. It hit the wall with a sickening thump that resonated through the room and Harry felt a bit better.

Added on top of the questions about his sexuality, Harry had also started to question if he really wanted to be an Auror. He hated all of his classes, he just couldn't picture himself going through this for the rest of his life. Teachers had already warned him and the rest of his class that they would spend most of their time filling out paper work, testifying in court, or getting stuck playing office politics. Like with the muggle police force, there was very little true action.

Harry's mind was so caught up in his thought that he didn't hear the spell being whispered behind him, nor did he get the sinking feeling that something terrible was about to happen. The first clue that he got that not everything was right in the world was when the spell was removed and the three inch thick textbook came crashing down on his head.

Harry screamed out, partly out of surprise, but mostly in pain. He spun around to see Malfoy turned around in his chair, looking back at him.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Harry shouted at him.

"You threw the book at my head!" Malfoy shouted back at him.

"I did not!" Harry screamed back only moments before realizing that he had indeed chucked the book over his shoulder, which would have been directly aimed at the back of Malfoy's head. "Oh, wait…"

Harry opened his mouth to apologize, but he was cut off by the sound of someone knocking on the door to their room. Harry and Malfoy both looked at each other, as if asking if they knew who was at the door. They had both been very private since the start of school, neither had a large group of friends. Apart from the incident with Janna neither had ever invited someone over to the room, partially because of all of the strict rules.

Without knowing who might want either of them, Harry stood up and moved to the door. He opened it to find a girl about his age standing in front of him. She had shoulder length blonde hair and sparkling eyes that were so blue that Harry was certain they were a result of a spell. She wore a school uniform with a patch on the shoulder that he did not recognize. She smiled up at him and opened her mouth.

"Hallo," She said after a moment, "Wo ist Draco Malfoy?"

Harry stepped back and pointed at the blonde in the chair. Malfoy pushed away from his desk, looking surprised. He stood up and walked over in front of her, taking her hands in his. By their faces and nervous posture, Harry could tell that they were both uncomfortable. Malfoy tried to smile, but it came out very strained.

"Um, hello," Malfoy bit his lip, "Is there anything I can say that won't sound stupid?"

"I don't think so," the girl said with a thick accent. She blushed a bit and looked away.

"What are you doing here?" Malfoy asked, leading her into his room. He motioned for her to sit in his chair, he stayed off to the side, pacing a bit.

"Had to see you at least once," She said, looking so fragile.

"I'm glad you did." Malfoy bent down next to her, looking in her eyes.

Harry grabbed his backpack, wanting to escape before things got more awkward than they already were. With a quick glance at his watch, he knew that he would be able to find Hermione in the library, so he headed over there. He needed something to take his mind off of everything that was going on, plus he figured that he could talk to her about one of the major issues in his life. While he knew that he had to keep the questions about his sexuality a secret, he could tell her about how he was questioning his future career.

As expected, he found her in the library, but what he did not expect was for her to be sitting next to Blaize Zabini. The two of them were sitting at a table, pouring over the same book. Notes were spread out around them as they buried themselves in their work. Harry felt guilty for disturbing them, but he needed Hermione and her rational judgment. Also, since Zabini knew Malfoy far better than he did, he might be able to explain who this odd girl was.

"Harry!" Hermione lifted her head, excited to see him. Harry smiled back and came to join them.

As it turned out, Hermione and Zabini had become close friends, sharing several of the same classes and being the only two charms majors who came from Hogwarts they had a lot in common to begin with. They now studied together every Saturday in the library. Harry stored away that little fact in the back of his mind for later. By the look on Hermione's face as Zabini was telling him this, it was possible that they were studying a little more than their homework. For now though, Harry went along with what they were saying.

"Um, Zabini, Malfoy had a visitor today. Short, blonde hair," Harry continued to describe her in as much detail as he could in hopes that he could help. He supposed that it didn't matter much who visited his roommate, but there was something about the girl and about how they were acting that just didn't seem right.

"Yeah, that's Crescentia Leibe, he's shown me pictures but I don't think that they've ever actually met. They're supposed to get married in a few years, arranged, you know how these things go with wealthy pureblood." Zabini shrugged.

Something flared deep inside of Harry, though he couldn't say exactly what it was. For some reason, that he didn't care to examine, the thought of Malfoy getting married upset him. Perhaps it was because it was arranged, neither of them had a say in it, though neither one seemed upset to meet each other. Malfoy had actually seemed happy to meet her, and she had clearly been happy to see him. But even without that, it just seemed wrong.

After spending most of the day with them, Harry made his way back to his room. He was about to open the door when something made him stop. He paused for a moment with his hand on the doorknob. From inside the room he could hear soft sounds, a subtle rhythmic squeak, rather metallic, sort of like bedsprings. His suspicions were confirmed when he heard a soft moan. He was half temped to storm through the door. Malfoy had ruined his chance to get laid, why shouldn't he do the same to him?

Then again, the circumstances were much different. This was his future bride, not some cheap tramp to get rid of a rumor. Not to mention, Malfoy had helped him by preventing that. Still, the thought that Malfoy was in there, doing all sorts of unspeakable acts to this girl that, even if he would soon be engaged to her, she was still a stranger. They had only met that morning.

Shaking his head, Harry moved away from the door. The best thing he could do was avoid the room for a while. Even if he didn't like what Malfoy was doing in there, he told himself that if he burst through that door he would only make his own life worse. He wouldn't be breaking any rules, but Malfoy would certainly have all sorts of punishments for him that did not break the rules either. He would find some way to make Harrys life a living hell.

He stayed away from the room, spending time in the small study lounge on the first floor. He didn't actually get much studying done, the room was being used for a rather loud game of truth or dare, making Harry wonder if this was secretly a middle school. He watched, only half paying attention to them. Things went well until they caught him watching and asked him to join. He couldn't very well say no and continue to watch, so he grabbed a chair and came over.

Harry picked truth the first time, worried about what they might dare him to do. Everything seemed pretty tame, none of the dares or the truths were all that bad. It seemed to be more about getting to know each other and doing silly things than embarrassment. The second time he was chosen, Harry decided to go all in and chose dare.

"Okay, Mr. Potter," the girl across from him said with mock authority in her voice which was soon ruined by a giggle, "I dare you to kiss Mark."

Mark sat across from Harry. He was a shy boy, his voice so quiet that Harry had trouble hearing him some time. A deep blush came to the boy's face and he bit his lip. Harry's muscles tensed up, his mind flashing back to all of the dreams that he had had, the ambiguous figure. This, he realized, was his chance. He could use this brief experiment to see if he had any interest in boys. He had to admit that Mark was cute.

As their lips met, Harry's heart pounded, shivers went up and down his spine. His body screamed at him, wanting more, demanding that Harry continue farther. It was nothing like the kiss that he and Cho had experienced, it was like nothing he had ever felt before. The kiss seemed all too brief, but at last Harry had the answers that he needed.

"I had better get back, I think my roommate might be done." Harry excused himself, trying to fight the blush that had decided to take up permanent residence on his cheeks. He didn't know if they thought that the kiss had to do with his sudden dispatcher, and he knew that the rumors were certain to start up again, but at least this time they would be true. They called out something about the game being too rough for him but he didn't pay attention to them.

He needed some time away from people, preferably entirely alone. So many nights of worry, so much tension, and now he had the answer. The big complaint about the dorms was the lack of privacy, lack of opportunity for guys to take care of some issues that would come up on occasion. Thanks to all sorts of stress, that had never been a problem for Harry, but the relief of finally knowing, the kiss, and the need to explore his desires had left him walking uncomfortably. If he had been in Hogwarts he would have been able to go to the bathroom, the showers were private and he was able to mask any sounds by the running water. Now, with the open showers, he had to hope that Malfoy was not in their room.

When he got up to his room again, Harry paused, hand on the doorknob. He pressed his ear to the door to see if he could hear any sound inside, but nothing came through. He couldn't even hear Malfoy talking to anyone, so either he was gone or else he was being very quiet. Harry mentally prayed that he was gone for more reasons than just the obvious. Clearly, he wanted to take advantage of his new found knowledge, test out just how true it was, but he was also worried about seeing Malfoy. He wasn't sure just how he should act around the Slytherin at the moment. How did a person respond to someone that they had just heard having sex less than an hour before.

Was he supposed to act like nothing happened? That would be the easiest thing to do, Malfoy wouldn't even know that he had heard him. Should he congratulate him? Who knew how Slytherins viewed such things. In Gryffindor everyone would have harassed whoever it was, not in a mean way, but just joking. Joking with Malfoy was definitely off the menu. Ignoring the entire thing seemed to be the best idea. If Malfoy mentioned it then he could say something, but he doubted that he would want to discuss his sex life with his enemy.

Harry bit his lip. Were they still enemies? They were not friends, that much was clear, but they weren't exactly at each others throats all the time anymore. They were sort of getting along now, as long as each of them stuck to the firm rules of avoidance and ignoring each other. Still, they were not entirely enemies anymore, just acquaintances with a long history that didn't get along very well.

Harry's finger lingered on the doorknob for a moment, thoughts turning back to what he hoped would happen when he got in there and found Malfoy to be gone. He opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. The lights were off, so he pulled out his wand and activated the light. Warm light filled the room, illuminating the bed that sat just to Harry's left. His eyes widened when he saw that there were two figures in the bed, naked from the waist up with a blanket covering the lower half of their bodies.

A deep blush came to Harry's face and he turned away, not wanting to see Malfoy's future fiancé shirtless, but something made him look back. He could have sworn that he had seen both of their chests, but he couldn't recall seeing any lean feminine curves, and he thought that one of the heads resting in the pillow had deep brown hair. Both Malfoy and Crescentia had blonde hair. When Harry looked back, his jaw dropped. He could see Malfoy laying in bed, curled around a beautiful male body.


	7. Lesson 7, Questioning

Harry's eyes scanned the bed in front of him, as if he still did not believe what he was seeing. No matter how many times he blinked, looked away and looked back, or tried to reason with himself, he still saw Draco Malfoy curled up with a guy that he did not recognize. Harry's recent discovery about his own sexual orientation took a back seat to this excitement. After picking his jaw up off of the floor, he managed to take a step towards his side of the room, trying to act natural but unable to take his eyes off of the bed and its two occupants.

The light shining on his face caused Malfoy to begin to stir. Harry's best instincts told him to flee, or at least shut off the light so that he wouldn't have to deal with the awkwardness he was bound to encounter, but he was frozen to the spot. The Slytherin's eyes opened slowly, blinking at Harry a couple of times before closing again. He muttered something that Harry couldn't hear, but he had a feeling that it was a series of explicatives. Something moved quickly under the covers and the mystery man awoke with a start.

"Why are you still here?" Malfoy asked. Harry thought that he was talking to him and went to answer, but the other man responded first.

"Well, we…"

"I know what we did!" Malfoy grumbled, rolling over just enough to look at the man, "And we finished, so get out of my room."

There was another quick movement under the covers and the brunet jumped back in pain. He was getting kicked, Harry realized after a moment. The man clumsily fell out of bed, completely naked. A deep blush rose around Harry's cheeks as he tried not to look at the man. He did not want to discover the truth about his sexuality and broadcast that information to everyone in the same night. From the little bit that he had seen, the man was attractive, but he really did not want to get caught staring.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Potter, my name is…" The mystery man started only to be cut of.

"No, it isn't nice to meet him and get the hell out of my room!" Malfoy growled.

Without further comment, the strange brunet slid on his pants and reached for his shirt in one hand and his shoes and socks with the other. He tugged his shirt over his head and started to head for the door, still carrying his shoes and socks. Harry stared at him, trying to think of something intelligent to say, but failing miserably. Instead of actually speaking, his mouth just opened and closed like a fish. Malfoy had escaped the embarrassment of the entire event by pretending to have fallen back asleep.

"Um, Malfoy?"

"What?" The hate seemed to bubble over through his voice, leaking venom.

"I, um, well, you…"

With a deep sigh, Malfoy pulled himself into a sitting position, covers pooled at his lap as he made not attempt to cover his naked chest. Harry tried not to stare, hoping that his long time enemy would mistake his nervousness and blushing from what had just happened to simple embarrassment. Malfoy did not need to know that he had been trying to get a better look at the guy who had just speedily dressed himself before rushing away. In fact, Malfoy was the last person that he would want to know. He also really didn't want him to know that he was currently transfixed by the sight of his naked body with nothing but a sheet covering him.

"Time for the questions, right?" Malfoy sighed again, rubbing some sleep out of his left eye, "Let's make this short. Yes, I've seen you naked, no I've never tried to see you naked, no I've never snuck peeks at you while you were dressing and no, I have absolutely no interest in you what so ever so you don't have to worry about me raping you in your sleep. Does that cover everything because, despite his shortcomings, I just had the best hour and a half since coming to this hell hole and I'd like to go to sleep and relive the entire thing as many times as I can before I have to wake up."

Harry was temped to point out that those were not the questions that he wanted to ask. He actually wanted to know how long Malfoy had known he was gay, and how he had figured it out. He wanted to know how Malfoy had known that the mystery man was gay, where they had met, but he highly doubted that Malfoy would appreciate being asked anything at the moment. Instead, he just nodded and decided to ask his real questions in the morning when the blonde wouldn't have so much of a temper.

The next morning a steady drizzle kept everyone inside. Harry looked out the window mournfully. He had gotten mostly caught up on his homework and had been looking forward to spending the day on his broom. The Quidditch tryouts had really made him realize just how little he had ridden in the past few years and just how bad his skills had suffered as a result. Plus, when he was on his broom everything else just seemed to fade away. He had hoped for a chance to clear his head, maybe discover just what he needed to do with the new discoveries about himself and about Malfoy. But now his broom just sat in the corner looking as depressed as Harry felt. On the other hand, the weather gave him a good excuse to stay in his room all day and possibly confront Malfoy about what had happened the night before

He still wasn't sure that Malfoy would be willing to talk about what had happened. In fact, all indications pointed to just the opposite. The blond in question was sitting at his desk. He had been there since before Harry had woken up, looking over diagrams of how to cut specific ingredients for potions. It seemed like that was the only place that Harry ever saw him anymore. He would just sit at his desk for hours on end, not talking, not moving. He hated it when anyone would disturb him while he was working, but Harry decided to take his chances.

"Hey, Malfoy," Harry said, "Um, about last night…"

"You aren't going to let this drop, are you?"

"I just wanted to make sure that you know I'm not going to tell anyone." Harry smiled, expecting a slight outpouring of thanks.

"First off, it isn't a secret, so I don't care who you tell. Secondly, if it were a secret you couldn't tell anyone anyway, not without breaking the rules." Malfoy sighed.

"Oh, yeah," Harry blushed a bit at his mistake, "wait, it isn't a secret?"

"Most of Slytherin knew, if anyone had asked they would have known too, but no one asked."

"But how?" Harry asked louder than he had meant to, "I don't do anything and everyone starts up rumors about me! How can you actually be gay and no one care?"

"Potter, after I answer this question, I am going to smack you every time you open your mouth, got it?" Malfoy locked eyes with Harry, showing him that he was serious about his threat, "No one cares that I'm gay because I'm a pureblood and the head of the Malfoy family. They don't care because it doesn't matter what I feel like doing, I'm going to get married to Crescentia and we are going to have three children. Me being gay doesn't effect any of that."

"Does Crescentia know?"

Instead of an answer, Harry's side received a firm smack from one of the books that littered Malfoy's desk. He opened his mouth to protest and was smacked again. Remembering Malfoy's threat, he kept his mouth closed and waited in hopes that he would answer the question anyway.

"No, she doesn't know." He shrugged, "She might find out, she might not, I don't care. Every marriage like this has affairs. Until a week after I was born there was a good chance that Snape was my father, but then they did a test and he isn't…wasn't."

Harry looked down, trying not to remember the former professor's death. He wasn't sure how to handle the situation that he had just gotten himself into. He had experienced enough loss to know how hard it was, he didn't want to make it any more difficult by opening his big mouth. As much as Harry had despised Snape, he knew that the Slytherins, especially Malfoy, had always looked up to him. The best thing he could do now was come up with something to keep Malfoy's mind off of him.

"I kissed a guy last night." Harry admitted.

"That's nice," Malfoy said without looking away from his desk, "Do I look like I care?"

"I think I'm gay," Harry continued. He wasn't sure how to carry on with this conversation, but he needed to talk to someone about it. He knew that he couldn't talk to Ron or Hermione, but here he had a captive audience sworn to secrecy. While telling any Slytherin something personal was dangerous, he had to talk to someone. Maybe Malfoy could even help him. He had clearly gone through the same issues, so maybe he would be willing to offer advice.

"Good for you, now shut up!"

"But I'm really not sure if I am," Harry continued, pretending that he hadn't heard Malfoy's reply.

"Go talk to Granger and leave me alone."

"I cant talk to her! I'd already be there if I could!" Harry said louder than he had meant to. "I don't really have anyone I can talk to about this, and well, I'm sorta scared."

Malfoy looked down at the book in front of him and didn't say anything for a moment. Harry chewed on his bottom lip, waiting for a response. He wasn't sure what to expect. If Malfoy was going to snap at him and tell him to shut up again, he would have already done it. Still, the idea of Malfoy willingly helping him seemed very unlikely. Even if he did agree to help, what could he possibly do. There were questions that Harry wanted answered, but he wasn't even sure he could bring himself to ask questions without dying of embarrassment.

"If I answer your questions will you shut up and leave me alone?" Malfoy asked, eyes narrowing. Harry nodded enthusiastically.

"Okay then," Malfoy siged, "I have some homework to finish, I'll help you after I'm done."

* * *

Harry took a deep breath and clutched the towel tighter around his waist. This would be his first shower since realizing the truth. He would soon be surrounded by naked male bodies, wet and hot from the shower. He bit his bottom lip. This was not going to end well, he could already tell. There was no way that he would be able to be in the same room as so many naked bodies for more than five minutes before embarrassing himself and revealing his secret to everyone. He swallowed hard, he had to go take a shower, he couldn't hide for the rest of his life.

"Potter!" Malfoy shouted at him, "Just go take a shower!"

"But everyone will know and…"

"It's the afternoon, no one else is going to be in the shower. Even if someone else was there, group showers are not sexy, no matter what you hear about in magazines. They are no different now from yesterday, if you are going to get turned on by them it would have happened long ago whether you admitted you were gay or not, so stop staring at the door and just take the damn shower!"

Harry nodded and hurried to the shower, not wanting to make Malfoy mad. During their conversation, Harry had felt like he had gotten to see a new side of his long time enemy. Malfoy had answered every question that he had without making so much as one smart remark. There were plenty of opportunities, most of the questions had made him very uncomfortable, it wouldn't have taken much to insult him. Instead, Draco had let him stammer through the worst questions without comment. The answers were truthful, as far as Harry could tell anyway, and had been given with no attempt to embarrass him more.

Harry thought back to the old trick that every kid learned at Hogwarts. All he had to do was think about something so incredibly boring or disgusting that there was no way he could feel anything else. Thinking about the conversation that he had just had with Malfoy should have worked perfectly. He hadn't felt that awkward or uncomfortable in a long time. He decided to focus on that as he removed the towel from around his waist and hung it on the hook.

The warm water flowed over his body and he shivered as the warmth soaked into his skin. He thought about the conversation, how kind Malfoy had been to him, how he had leaned in and really listened to Harry's questions and concerns. He could almost picture the blond boy, the way he lounged comfortably in his chair, how his fingers toyed with the quill. Something about him had just put all of Harry's fears and concerns to rest.

During their talk, Harry had noticed for the first time how much Malfoy had changed since their first meeting. Apart from getting taller and bigger, he had also grown more attractive. It was a common fact at Hogwarts that Malfoy was one of the best looking wizards, Harry was just now coming to accept that fact. His once overly pointed features had rounded out, giving him a more friendly look which was usually ruined once he opened his mouth. His tiny frame, once a little stick figure, had gained lean muscles, a result of Quidditch practice that Harry had received as well. Since he had started at Chatnoir his hair had also escaped from it's gel prison and laid softly around his face. There was no denying that Malfoy was good looking, and Harry had no trouble admitting it.

What most people didn't know was that there was more beauty to be seen than what most of them had. Sure, they knew what he looked like when he showed up to class, hair perfectly brushed, robes adjusted and wrinkle free, but Harry had seen far more than just the perfectly groomed version. He saw him late at night, covers wrapped around the lower half of his body and leaving his chest exposed. Pale skin flowed over his muscles, almost glowing in the dim moonlight coming through the window. His skin had always amazed Harry, how it was always flawless. His hands were never scratched up like Harry's were, no calluses were on his finger tips. It wasn't just his hands either. Harry thought back to the first week of school when the ceiling had collapsed on them and they ended up in the shower to wash the dust off. The sight of the water flowing over his perfect body, the way he moaned as it warmed his skin.

A deep blush came to Harry's face as heat rushed to his groin. He stood there for a moment in shock. He had just gotten turned on by Malfoy. He, the Gryffindor's golden boy, had just gotten hard thinking about the prince of Slytherin, his bitter rival. Harry's hand lashed out, grasping the shower knob and turning the water from hot to cold. The warmth soon disappeared and freezing water washed over his body, making him gasp. He wanted to leave, but stood there, shivers soon overtaking him.

* * *

Sorry that I'm a little late with this chapter. I give ghost tours during the summer and my boss begged me to come back to help them over Halloween weekend. I didn't get home from work last night until 1:30 AM, so yesterday was a little hectic. I probably will be getting home about the same time tonight. *dies of exhaustion* Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed the chapter, I'll be updating next Friday!


	8. Lessen 8, Lack of Creative Title

As the week progressed, Harry discovered that his life-shattering discovery hadn't actually shattered anything. Nothing had really changed, no one treated him any different, his life wasn't any more or less difficult, everything was just the same as it had been before. He hadn't really expected anything to change, it wasn't like he even told anyone. He knew that things would change once he came out, but for now he just wanted to keep his secret.

There were some changes in his dorm life though. While he had not had any more disturbing thoughts or dreams about Malfoy, there had been some changes between them. They were talking more, some of it about Harry's questions and also about other topics. Both of them had relaxed and the room quickly became more comfortable to be in. Harry was now looking forward to getting out of class, not only because he couldn't wait to get away from the horrible professors, but also because he wanted to get back to his dorm.

"Okay everyone, attention up here!" Professor Ashton called out, "This is going to be our last movie, we'll still have class, but we'll be doing other things. We'll be talking about the possibilities of muggles and wizards co-existing with full knowledge of each other. We'll go over the benefits for each culture as well as the dangers and downsides. You'll want to pay attention because you'll have to write a short essay arguing one side or the other for your final."

Harry fought back a yawn, trying his hardest to pay attention. Unlike all of his other classes, Harry enjoyed this one. It didn't hurt that he already knew all of the information that they had gone over so far. But after this movie, he reminded himself, he would have to pay more attention. He remembered how Dumbledore had championed joining muggles and wizards in his youth, but that was the only experience he had with it. For the first time, he'd really have to pay attention.

"Now, I wanted to make this last movie something special, so I decided to show this amazing commentary on the rock and roll lifestyle, showing the ups and downs of a famous star leading to his search for privacy and the public's attempt to draw him out. It's an independent film that came out a few years ago, but it has an amazing cast, many of them famous, all of them sexy. Ladies, you'll enjoy this movie to the fullest. The title of this amazing work of art is Velvet Goldmine."

Harry scootched forward in his seat, anticipating the start of the movie. While Professor Ashton always introduced the movies they were going to watch, this movie's introduction had clearly been special. Looking around the room he saw that some of the students did not have such a positive reaction to it. Some of them, the students that he knew to have been partially raised by muggles, were looking very concerned, one of them looked downright scared.

"Unfortunately, the Chancelor said that Velvet Goldmine has too much foul language, drug and alcohol use, violence, adult situations, gay sex, full frontal nudity, and possible child molestation, so we can't show it. I say possible child molestation, because you never find out just how old the kid is, but he looks like he's in middle school. So, instead of Velvet Goldmine, we'll be watching Disney's 101 Dalmatians, the original animated version."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the list of issues with the movie. From the looks of it, the rest of the class had the same reaction. Draco muttered something about how it wasn't all that bad, but Harry had trouble believing him. He thought about confronting him about it, but with his luck Draco would have access to a copy of it and it really would be as bad as it sounded. Then again, with all of the gay sex it supposedly had, it could be a very educational experience. So far, the actual discussion on the logistics of how gay sex worked was the one topic that Harry had been too embarrassed to even mention.

As the lights dimmed, Professor Ashton moved towards the back of the room. Harry soon forgot all about him and focused on the opening to the movie. Large splotches of colors, reminiscent of a Dalmatian's spots, set to jazz music. He put all of his attention on the TV. He jumped about a foot in the air when Professor Ashton's head popped up over Harry's left shoulder, between him and Draco.

"Hey, Draco, you have plans for Friday?" The Professor asked in a whisper, "I was thinking about going out, maybe to Babylon."

"I don't have time" Draco replied.

"When was the last time you got any…stress relief?"

Harry turned away from the conversation, really needing to pay attention to something other than his roommate's sex life. The thoughts that he had had in the shower were still too close to his mind, his reaction too frightening. While he may have improved, Malfoy was still not someone that he could imagine kissing, let alone doing anything else with him. The less he knew, the better he would be. He still caught himself glancing over his shoulder when he was doing his homework, just checking to see where the boy was. There was just something odd about being close to the former Slytherin, yet it was oddly comforting. He tried not to examine it too deeply.

"Just last week, the stress relief caused more stress, remember?" Draco half growled at him, "Your idea, if you remember. Besides, I'm not going to be doing things like that anymore."

"You've met someone, haven't you," The professor smirked. "Who?"

Harry felt a pang of jealousy rip through his chest, though he couldn't explain why. Why shouldn't he find someone?

"It doesn't matter, we aren't together and we won't be."

"Let me guess, he doesn't know you exist?"

"He knows I exist, but trust me when I say there's no chance of us getting together. I'm not talking about it, so just let me watch the movie and leave me alone."

"Okay, okay," Professor Ashton pulled back away from him.

* * *

"I don't think I can take it anymore!" Harry said a bit to loud for the library, "I have okay grades in all of my classes but I can't stand them! All of my professors expect me to be brilliant at every aspect of Defense Against the Dark Arts, and I'm not. Now I have to schedule classes next week and I can't even find a single class that I want to take!"

Hermione sat across the table from Harry, taking in her friend's rant. Blaze sat next to her, nodding when appropriate. They both knew that Harry hated his classes, this was not the first and probably would not be the last time that Harry had ranted and raved about his professors and classes. Hermione had mentioned switching majors to Harry several times, but he always shot her down without so much as considering the idea. He would just say that he really wanted to help people and this was the only way he knew how. She understood just how much pressure he was under to become an Auror. Everyone just accepted that he would continue the fight, dedicate his life to saving others. Only Hermione seemed to notice just how much damage the struggle had caused him. He had been risking his life since he was only eleven years old, losing people close to him since he was fourteen. As far as Hermione was concerned, he was done with the fight, he should be free to do whatever he wanted, but Harry didn't see it that way.

"Potter, do you even want to be an Auror?" Blaze interrupted Harry's rant, using the boy's surname to get his attention.

"I just want to help people," Harry sighed heavily.

"Have you ever even thought about becoming a healer?" Blaze asked.

Harry shook his head. Everyone in the wizarding world had just assumed that he would go to work for the ministry. Even when he had entered Chatnoir, the wizard in charge of helping new students pick their major had asked him which area of Defense Against the Dark Arts he would like to major in. He hadn't even mentioned the other majors.

"It would take you longer to finish school, but Chatnoir does have a good program. You'd also still be helping people." Hermione added

Harry nodded, trying to take in the new information. It did sound like a good idea. He didn't mind spending more time in school, and he knew from first hand experience just how important healers were. There was no way that he could stay with Defense Against the Dark Arts, he had already done too much. Although he wouldn't admit it, he was also sick of risking his life. He had been so certain that he wouldn't live this long that he hadn't actually made any real plans. It sickened him to think that anyone, especially someone as young as himself, would resign themselves to death.

"Doesn't that take a lot of potions classes?" Harry asked, already starting to see a few problems with the plan, "I hardly even passed Snape's class, there's no way I'll be able to handle potions classes here."

"Snape taught at a higher level than most potions professors," Hermione offered.

"I'll still fail."

"Hey, Hermione," Blaze said with a smile, "How does it feel to have gotten the highest grade in potions class every year?"

"I wouldn't know," Hermione crossed her arms, "I was always second highest."

"Really? I had no idea." Blaze lied, "But you know what, wouldn't it be funny if that one person who did better than even you was also going to Chatnoir?"

"He is going here," Hermione smiled, catching onto his plan.

"And wouldn't it be an amazing coincidence if he happened to know Harry and spend a lot of time around him, like if they were roommates?"

"Okay, okay! I get the point, I'll ask him later tonight!" Harry sighed, waving them away. He really didn't want to ask him for help any more than he already had. It was bad enough that he already had to ask him for advice on what to do now that he realized he was gay.

"Gryffindors are such children," Blaze grumbled and was soon smacked on the arm by Hermione, "What?"

Harry sat back and watched the blood bath ensue. The two of them threw insults back and forth at each other's houses. Only a year ago the fight would have been serious, soon punches and spells would have followed the insults. But now, after only a couple of months, only laughter followed the insults. Each of them tried to top the other and the accusations quickly got ridiculous

"It really is disgusting you know, for a Slytherin to be shamelessly flirting with a Gryffindor like that," A voice from behind Harry said. Harry tilted his head back and found Draco hovering over him. Although he would never admit it, his heart pounded at being so close to him. He could smell the strange mixture of scents that came off of the blonde when he had just finished making a potion. Although it was always a slightly different scent, it always seemed familiar, welcoming almost. He looked away from him and back to Hermione and Blaze. He wasn't the least bit surprised to see them both blushing.

"We weren't flirting, just being friendly," Blaze snorted.

"I am still dating Ron you know." Hermione crossed her arms.

"Ah, I forgot about that, how many months has it been since you have seen him?" Draco asked.

"Besides, you have a lot of room to talk, Draco," Blaze crossed his arms as well, a confident smirk on his face. Harry looked upwards and saw that Draco was not nearly as amused at the comment.

"I thought you were supposed to keep your mouth shut." Draco growled at him, the beginnings of a serious argument were showing. The entire feeling of the room changed, tension quickly filled it. Harry had a feeling that everyone else knew something that he didn't.

"Sorry, I didn't know it was a secret!" Blaze bit his lip, "It's just so obvious I thought you'd already asked him, I didn't mean to open my fat mouth like that."

"It is obvious though" Hermione added, hoping to take some of the pressure off of Blaze.

Draco didn't want to hear it though, he turned around and stormed out of the library. Harry couldn't explain it, but he knew that he just had to follow him. He couldn't let him just storm off. Even if he didn't know exactly what was going on, he wanted to find out. He wanted to help him.

"Draco, wait!" Harry called out, grabbing his coat and pulling it on as he hurried out the door. He was surprised to see the blonde actually stop and wait for him on the landing. When he caught up with him, he noticed that his roommate had a strange look on his face, almost hopeful.

"I…um…I just…" Harry took a deep breath and began again, "I don't care if you go after that guy, it would be good for you to have a boyfriend, just so long as you, you know, don't do things while I'm in the room. We'll have to come up with something to let me know if you, um, have him in the room. I don't want to, you know, walk in again and…"

Draco looked down at his feet. Harry had a feeling that he had said something wrong. The blonde seemed disappointed, but he couldn't pinpoint just why. Harry had just forced himself to claim that he was okay with the idea of Draco sleeping with some random guy. He had lied to try to help Draco cheer up, but he seemed to have just made it worse.

"Trust me, I'm not going to get together with him. He's an amazing guy, kind, incredibly hot, not exactly a genius though. I'm actually just learning that last bit, I thought he was a bit smarter. He's pretty much oblivious, wouldn't realize that I had any interest in him unless I flat out told him."

"Then tell him!"

"No!" Draco replied a little too quickly. He took a deep breath and tried to explain, "He'll never go for it. He's a great guy, but he wouldn't be able to overlook the things I've done. Years ago I might have had a chance, if I had just changed."

"I don't think that anyone hated you more than I did," Harry said, "but once I got to know you, I like being around you. I can overlook the things you've done, if that guy cant do that then he isn't nearly as great as you say."

"He's even more amazing than you realize, but that doesn't mean he'd want anything to do with me." Draco said before turning away.

This time Harry didn't follow him.

* * *

I got pretty sneaky and signed up for alterts+ so I got to see if people are adding this to their alert lists and stuff. Apparently there are a whole lot of people adding this story to their story alerts, but not many people actually reviewing it (at least for the last chapter). Please tell me if there is something that I should improve about it.

As always, next update is next Friday!


	9. Lesson 9, Schedualing

PLEASE READ!!!!!

Okay, I apologize for this being so amazingly late. I would like to say that I was working on a psychology project, or studying for German, but…well, I wasn't. It's late because I lost the chapter. I printed it out, handed it to my amazing beta, she found all of my dumb mistakes, and I set it next to my beloved laptop so that I could make the changes later. From that point on what happened is a mystery. My beloved beta is very busy and I REALLY wanted to get this chapter posted, so I just re-edited it myself. All of the stupid mistakes are mine, I apologize ahead of time for any damage that the spelling may cause to your brain function. Thank you, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

"Mr. Potter, I'd like you to think long and hard about this," the small man behind the desk insisted. His tiny frame was dwarfed by the large mahogany desk that separated him from Harry. Papers spread out across it in a very specific web-like organization. The lights from the ceiling shone off of his balding head as his arms reached out over the expanse of papers.

"I have sir," Harry said, trying not to jump to conclusions, "I've been thinking about it for a long time."

The small man continued sifting through the papers, hand shaking and tiny glasses threatening to fall off of his pointed face. Harry thought he could hear the man muttering something along the lines of "of dear" a couple of times.

"Ah ha!" The man squeaked. He pulled a folder out from under the papers and set it on top. "This is your full file, Mr. Potter. It has all of your records from Hogwarts, that includes grades and any notes about discipline that your professors made. Are you aware that it is not generally our policy to admit students with this many disciplinary notes?"

Harry bit his lip. He did not like where this conversation was headed, but he tried to give the man the benefit of the doubt.

"Now, we did allow leniency in this particular case because of specific and unique struggles that you were faced with."

"You mean how Voldemort or one of my professors were trying to kill me each year?" Harry asked, leaning back in his seat. He had only just met this man and he already didn't like him. He had dealt with people like this so many times in the past few years, trying to abuse their power, manipulate him into things that he didn't want to do. He was just so sick of all of it.

"Yes, mostly that, but also the turbulent times that Hogwarts experienced with the unfortunate accidents that occurred to many of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors, and of course the late Headmaster. Also, there is the issue of how you absence from your seventh year at Hogwarts. Luckily we are willing to overlook that considering your quick completion of your remedial studies as well as how you spent that school year."

"You mean how I spent the school year fighting the dark lord?"

"Yes, that." The small man nodded quickly, ready to move on from that particular part of the conversation.

"What does that have to do with switching majors?"

The small man picked up the file, holding it high enough that Harry could not see his expression over it, but he had a feeling that he knew exactly what it looked like. "You were admitted to this fine school because of your amazing work in Defense Against the Dark Arts, not only your outstanding grades, but your continued dedication to practice what you have learned to the benefit of others. Any skills you may have as a healer are minor and undeveloped. For that reason I highly suggest you continue with your current major or we may have to reconsider your enrollment in this fine institution. With your expulsion from Chatnoir, combined with your considerable number of disciplinary notes from Hogwarts, I fear that you will find it most difficult to find another school willing to even look at your application, Mr. Potter."

"You can't do that!" Harry shot out of his seat, slamming his hands on the desk, "If I were anyone else you wouldn't be…"

"If you were anyone else, Mr. Potter, you would not be here."

Harry sighed deeply and sat back down in his seat. He hated being manipulated, especially by his own name. He thought that he had gotten into Chatnoir by his own hard work, by all of the effort he had put into making up seventh year in one summer, but apparently he was wrong. Rage boiled just under the surface, but he knew that there was no way that he could get out of this. The best thing to do was to sit there and take it until he found a way to escape.

"I've been doing more to prevent Voldemort's return since I was eleven years old than the worthless ministry has ever done. All I want to do is just switch majors so that I can help people in different ways."

"I'm sorry, but what you want is none of my concern. I am going to give you a course book and a schedule of classes for Defense Against the Dark Arts major. Fill it out and have it back here by next Friday. Enjoy your weekend, Mr. Potter."

Harry grabbed the book and parchment and left the room. He didn't think that he could stand to be in the same room as that creature any longer without getting physically ill. He had thought that getting Draco to agree to tutor him would be the difficult part, but the former Slytherin had almost jumped at the chance. Changing majors through the college should have been simple. He just wanted to rip the book to shreds. They had threatened him! They had actually threatened to kick him out of school.

He had to talk to someone, but he had no idea who. Hermione would be furious, but he also knew that there was nothing his friend could do. She would scream out at the injustice, but she alone would not be able to single handedly change the school's mind. They had apparently decided that they would be the ones to train the worlds greatest, or at least most famous, Auror, and nothing was going to stop them. Her anger would only make his worse. He needed someone to help him calm down, help him feel more in control. He tried to think of a way out by himself, but he was trapped on all sides, he needed someone who could find a way out. For the first time in his life, he wished that he was stuck dealing with Snape again, at least his threats weren't veiled behind a polite bureaucracy.

When he got back to the room he slammed the doors as hard as he could, causing some dust to trickle down in the middle of the room. From his seat, Draco looked up at the ceiling, waiting for the entire thing to crash down on both of them. Some of the tiles wobbled precariously, but they stayed in place. Harry took little notice of the ceiling and flopped face-first onto the bed without saying a word.

He heard Draco get out of his chair and walk over to the bed. One of the corners dipped down and Harry turned his head just enough to see the blonde peering over him. Although he didn't say anything, Harry could tell that he was waiting for the story. With a deep sigh, Harry sat up and told him what happened. He wasn't one hundred percent sure what to expect. Draco might get angry at the school or he might just laugh at him. For as much time as they had spent together over the past semester, he still couldn't predict the other man's moves. Even if he had felt comfortable enough to make predictions, he never would have expected Draco's reaction. He didn't really have one, he just nodded in agreement, didn't get angry, didn't shout at the injustice, he just nodded.

"And what are you going to do?" He asked when Harry was done.

Harry sat there, not comprehending the question. There were only two options, stick with the major he hated or get expelled and become the boy who failed. There was no way he could get kicked out, so he would stick to the evil major. When he explained this, Draco just laughed at him.

"Potter, how many people in the wizarding world know your name?" he asked through the laughter

"Just about everyone, but I don't see how that…"

"And how many of them like you at the moment?" Draco interrupted.

"Well, most of them."

"Okay, so Chatnoir wants to link their name to yours so that people will like the school, right?" Draco asked. Harry nodded, not sure where this conversation was going, but he was sure that it wasn't a good idea. He had wanted to never abuse the power behind his name or his popularity to get him anything. Then again, right now he was just interested in changing his major, the rest of the world be damned. He knew that if shameless manipulation of a person was on the schedule, a Slytherin would be the perfect partner.

"And how can we use that?" Draco smiled, distracting Harry for a moment. There was an extra sparkle in his eyes, but Harry simply assumed that it was because of scheming taking place.

Soon Harry found himself sitting at his desk, Draco hovering over him with his arms on the back of the chair. Blank parchment looked back up at Harry as he prepared to write a letter. All he needed to do was come up with a beginning. From behind him he heard Draco sigh in annoyance. Without warning he plucked the quill out of Harry's hands and leaned forward. One arm reached around Harry as he leaned far enough in to write on the parchment. Harry could feel the warmth of Draco's chest pressing against his back as his heart began to race. A blonde head appeared over his shoulder, their cheeks almost touching. Harry's breath hitched as he realized that Draco's heart was pounding just as hard as his own.

'_I have received several owls asking me just how my studies have progressed and what my life is like now that I no longer have the threat of Voldemort hanging over my_ _head_'

Harry looked down at the neatly penned words. Everything about Draco seemed so well put together, so organized and tidy. He had heard Blaise complain to Hermione about how horrible it was to live in the Slytherin dorms. Since that day, Harry had noticed many of Draco's OCD habits, how everything had to be organized. Even the inevitable clutter that came from having homework due in every class had its own home and never ventured to the rest of the desk. Where the Slytherins had clearly been annoyed by the over organization, Harry found it endearing. As a result, he had also been keeping his half of the room slightly more organized as well, though it still looked like an absolute wreak.

'_I'm pleased to say that Chatnoir has been all that I have expected and more,'_

"All that I've expected and more?" Harry asked.

"Yes, it's a school, which is all that you expected, and it's also run down dump, which is more than you expected." Draco explained.

'_I am, however, running into a slight issue involving scheduling. For years I have fought the dark arts, risking my own safety as well as the lives of those close to me. I have lost several dear friends over the past few years, as I know that so many have. I never chose to fight, to be a hero, but I took the role to help people. Now, however, the great looming threat has gone and…_'

"Great looming threat?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Shut up, Potter, whose writing this letter?"

"It's supposed to be me," Harry turned to look at Draco, accidentally pressing their cheeks together. Draco's skin was so soft against his own. He quickly pulled away and looked back down at the parchment.

'…_the great looming threat has gone and I've been thinking about what I would like to do with the rest of my life. I've seen more than my fair share of death and violence, I'd like to spend the rest of my life helping people recover from injuries rather than injuring people myself. I would like to become a healer. Sadly, I won't be able to do that_.'

Draco continued to describe the problems that Harry was dealing with, greatly exaggerating the charges against the school. Apparently now they had actually forced Harry into specific classes as well and were almost dictating his social schedule. The basic idea was still routed in fact, but Draco made sure that any attempt for the school to prove them wrong would be easily contradicted. It made Harry realize just how useful the skills of a Slytherin could be in specific circumstances.

Draco pulled away, Harry instantly missed the warmth and pressure of the other body pressed tightly against his body. His heart was still pounding, and he wondered if Draco's was as well. He wanted to know what thoughts were running through the blonde's head. Harry mentally slapped himself. Draco was interested in someone else, not him. Any reactions he had were strictly physical.

"Re-write that in your own handwriting and take that back to the Chancellor. Tell him that you are going to send it to _The Daily Prophet_ and you just wanted him to have a look at how his school's scheduling department is going to be depicted. Chatnoir doesn't want to be known as the school that harassed Harry Potter, they'll let you change your major," Draco instructed as he handed the parchment over to Harry, "But first, um, go find Granger, have her proofread it first."

Harry nodded and grabbed the parchment. He headed out the door, anxious to get the whole situation taken care of as soon as possible. All he wanted to do was schedule his damn classes and nothing was going to get in his way. He got down the hallway and the stairs and he was almost out the door when he realized that there was a good chance that Hermione was busy. Folding the parchment with the letter written on it in half, he reached into his back pocket and fished out his wallet. He pulled out a scrap of parchment that had Hermione's schedule written on it. He had gotten so tired of trying to remember when she was free that he had written it down.

A quick glance at the clock confirmed his suspicions. Fridays at six she was working as a tutor in the library. With a shrug and a sigh, Harry turned back around. He figured that he could legitimately go to the tutoring center and have her read over the letter. They did have rules that said that students could only work on education related materials, but he could claim that the letter was related to his education. Still, he did not want to push the rules. He would just have her proofread it later. As he hurried back up the stairs, he was struck with an odd feeling that Draco might have been trying to get rid of him, that he had wanted him out of the room. He paused before opening the door, considering the odd feeling, but there was no way Draco could have dragged some guy into his room that quickly, he had only just left five minutes ago.

When Harry swung open the door, the first thing he noticed was Draco's face contorted in pleasure. The blonde was leaning back in his chair, facing away from Harry, but with his head laid back far enough for Harry to see his face. Soft blonde hair fell away from his eyes, closed tightly as a soft moan escaped his lips. Harry's eyes opened in shock. He longed to reach out and touch him. He wanted to be the one causing those moans, wanted the look on Draco's face to be from him, not the blonde's own hand. He watched him for a moment, unable to do anything else, before the door swung closed behind him.

The click of the door latching echoed through the room, snapping the blonde out of his trance. Harry opened his mouth, ready to defend himself. He expected all sorts of anger, for Draco to be furious at the interruption. Draco opened his eyes, looking right at Harry. He knew that his own eyes were filled with lust, longing for the pleasures that he knew the body in front of him held. He wanted nothing more than to have the courage to lean over and kiss Draco, to just steal that little bit of joy without any worries of the consequences. For once in his life, he wanted to just take something, no matter what would come as a result.

Draco stood up, his expression unreadable. He moved forward faster than Harry had expected, pinning him to the wall with one hand. With his other, he explored the former Gryffindor's chest over his robes, rubbing up and down as the wheels turned inside his mind. Harry's heart was pounding, not knowing what to expect. They were so close together that he could feel Draco's hot breath against his cheek. His mind screamed for more, wanting to pull the blonde closer, but he lacked the courage. He opened his mouth to say something, but never had the chance. Draco burst forward, capturing Harry's lips with his own. They were soft against Harry's chapped skin, brushing over him, making him want more and more.

Harry's breath was coming in short gasps when they separated, and he could tell that Draco was having the same problem. His entire body trembled in pleasure, everywhere their skin met seemed to vibrate with electricity. He longed for more. More touch, more friction, more skin, he wanted everything. He wanted Draco pressed against him, forcing him back harder against the wall, for the blonde to explore under his robes rather than just above. He leaned in, bringing their lips together again. A spark of electricity ran through them again.

"God, I don't think I can take much more of this," Draco groaned, leaning his chest against Harry, "Leaning over you to write that letter, feeling you against me, it was just too much. I need you, Harry, right now. You have no idea how bad this hurts."

Harry opened his mouth, wanting to tell Draco those words he needed to hear, wanting to bring him that pleasure, that release, but his throat didn't seem to be working right. All he could do was reach out. He wrapped one arm around Draco's waist, pulling him closer, trying to say without words just how much he needed the blond, how much he wanted to feel that warm skin sliding against his own. He pressed himself against him, feeling Draco's hardness brush against his own. The usually loose robes seemed uncomfortable, Harry longed to get rid of them, but he found both of his hands pinned above his head with one of Draco's hands.

"This doesn't mean anything," Draco said as he slid his free hand under Harry's robes to explore the taunt muscle hidden by the fabric. "It doesn't mean anything at all, understood, nothing!"

Harry nodded, willing to accept any terms if it meant that the pleasure would continue. Draco's hand paused for a moment before delving downwards, toying with the buckle to Harry's belt. The brunet moaned in pleasure, wanting nothing more to have that hot hand wrapped around him, to have Draco, body and soul, if only for one night.

* * *

Again, I am so incredibly sorry for any mistakes that might have been peppered throughout this chapter. From now on I'm going to make the changes to my document as soon as my awesome beta finishes making them to the paper (with a big red marker, not even a red pen, but one of those big Crayola magic makers. I'd miss the corrections otherwise.) I will be extra extra certain to put the next chapter out on Friday. Oh, and I hope you guys like the last scene. *wink*


	10. Lesson 10, Weekend Activities

Harry woke up to the sound of the alarm clock going off. He reached out to shut it off, but only smacked his hand against the wall. He was on the wrong side of the room, he realized. The events of the previous night flooded back into his mind. The feeling of Draco's warm body wrapped around his, the weight of him against Harry's back. Harry couldn't keep a smile from spreading across his face as he reached across the bed to find that it was empty. The smile quickly faded from his face. He was alone, Draco had already left.

It was Saturday, so there was no way that he could have gone to class. Harry's mind raced, trying to figure out just where the blonde had gotten to. Maybe he had just gone to the bathroom, or run to the library for a book. He could come back at any moment, so Harry tried to fall back asleep, convinced that Draco would be there when he woke up. He wouldn't have just abandoned him there, would he?

"_This doesn't mean anything," Draco said as he slid his free hand under Harry's robes to explore the taunt muscle hidden by the fabric. "It doesn't mean anything at all, understood, nothing!"_

The words echoed through Harry's head. It hadn't meant anything to him. Harry began feeling sick to his stomach. Draco wasn't in the bathroom, he was gone. He had gotten up, probably regretted his decision, and had left. He was in love with someone else, Harry's body had just been convenient. Something deep inside of Harry's mind snapped. Somewhere over the course of the previous night, he had realized just how much Draco meant to him, and now he knew just how little he meant to Draco.

Harry climbed out of bed, trying to ignore the heaviness in his arms and legs. Last night's clothes were still strewn on the floor. Even Draco had not bothered to clean his up. Harry picked up his roommate's robe for a moment, examining it. It still smelled like it's owner, but it looked abandoned and lost. He didn't know what else to do, so he put it in Draco's dirty clothes basket and moved to his own clothes.

Fully dressed, though without any attempt at brushing his hair or do any sort of attempt at making himself presentable, he rushed to the library. It was Saturday morning, Hermione would be studying with Blaise. He knew that he looked terrible as he ran, looked half insane, and he sprinted through campus without so much as a coat, but he didn't care. He knew that he couldn't tell Hermione what had happened, but he needed to do something. Even if it was only to spend time with her, he needed something to calm him down. He reached into his pocket and realized that he still had the letter that Draco had written.

Hermione was alone when Harry found her, though she did not offer an explanation to why Blaise was not there. Harry told her what had happened with his attempt at scheduling. As he expected, she was angry that they would ever do such a thing, he left out the part about how he was only in Chatnoir because of his name. He expected her to also be furious that he had gone to Draco for help rather than her, but she seemed to understand that without him even mentioning it. She took the letter from Harry's hand, pulled out a pot of red ink, and got to work.

"I'll be right back, I have to get something to drink," Harry excused himself and went off to find a water fountain. It wasn't too far away and soon he was relaxing as the cool water splashed against his lips.

"I seriously screwed up," Harry heard a familiar voice say from behind him. He spun around and looked behind him. The door to the room on the opposite side was partially open. Not enough to make it obvious, but enough that Harry could peek in and see what was going on. Malfoy sat across the table from Blaise, his forehead resting on the desk. The other Slytherin sat at the table, surrounded by books and looking as if he had actually been working when Malfoy decided to harass him.

"I don't see how it's that much of a problem. You got what you wanted, he got what he wanted, so where's the terrible flaw?"

"Some mindless fuck with Potter? That is the last thing I wanted!" Draco almost growled at his friend, "It was the worst decision of my life, and you know that I've made some bad ones. How the hell am I going to face him after this? I am so bloody stupid!"

"No you aren't," Blaise said in a calming tone. "Well, actually you are, but not for the reasons you're giving."

"There was no reason for me to do that, no reason in all hell to sleep with him, and now I've just made everything worse!"

"There were lots of reasons, some better than others," Blaise offered. Through the crack in the door, Harry could see him reach out a hand, trying to comfort his friend, "Some of them are even noble, others are kind of disgusting, but they are all good reasons."

This was followed by a long pause. Harry strained his ears, worried that he could be missing part of the conversation, but apparently the two boys were silent.

"So what are you going to do?" Harry heard Blaise ask at the end of the long pause, but it sounded far away, almost under water.

"I don't know, I really don't," Malfoy's voice responded, so quiet that Harry had almost missed it.

Harry felt dizzy. He had known that sleeping with Malfoy wasn't the smartest of ideas, he had known that right from the start, but he had been so close, so warm. Harry knew if he had a chance to go back and redo the previous night he would have done everything exactly the same. The world seemed so far away now, like Harry was miles away from anyone or any thing, his body numb to the world around him. He could still hear the two Slytherins in the other room, but he couldn't make out what they were saying.

"Harry," a voice brought him back to the real world. Harry turned around to see Hermione standing in the doorway, arms folded across her chest and the letter dangling out of one hand. She did not look pleased. She motioned for him to return to the room that they had been in. As much as Harry did not want to talk about the letter, he knew that it was already too late. Besides, it was possible that he could use it to take his mind off of the conversation he had just overheard.

"Are you really going through with this?" Hermione asked, setting the letter down on the table.

"Well, yeah," Harry blinked, "Why not?"

"Harry, you're abusing your power. You are blackmailing the chancellor!"

"I just want to switch my major!" Harry replied, suddenly wishing that he had never mentioned the letter to his friend.

"This isn't the way to do it! Go have a discussion with one of the guidance councilors, talk to the chancellor, but don't resort to this." Hermione motioned to the letter, "It's pure manipulation, Harry, no wonder a Slytherin came up with this."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Blaise said from the doorway. Harry could see Malfoy standing behind him, neither of them looked amused. Hermione opened and closed her mouth a few times, unable to form words.

"Well, you are the house known for underhanded tricks," Harry sneered, keeping his eyes on Malfoy. The blonde blushed and looked away.

"I'm not so sure about that anymore," Blaise snarled before turning and leaving. Malfoy left with him, but not without taking one last look at Harry.

Emotions boiled over in Harry all day long. He was furious at Malfoy. He had taken Harry's virginity and hadn't even waited until Harry had woken up before leaving. He knew that he shouldn't be upset, he had known from the start that the whole encounter hadn't meant anymore to the Slytherin than any other nameless person he had screwed. Harry tried to place himself on the same level as the man that he had caught Malfoy with, remembering the horrible way that he had treated him. Perhaps he was lucky that Malfoy had been gone when he woke up. The events of the previous night continued to play through his head though. He remembered the way Draco had softly cupped Harry's face in his hand, the look on the blonde's face as he brought Harry more pleasure than the Gryffindor had ever thought possible. How could that have meant nothing?

That night, Malfoy didn't come back to the room. Harry told himself that he didn't care, but he couldn't help but to wonder if the blonde was okay. He was still furious about what had happened, even if he was now furious at himself rather than his roommate. The only thing that he still blamed on the boy was that he had run away before Harry had woken up. As angry as Harry was at that fact, he had known from the start that their encounter "meant nothing" to Malfoy, Harry had just been a convenient body. He had known this, and was furious that he still went through with it.

Harry tossed and turned all night long, unable to sleep for more than an hour at a time. When morning finally came, he jumped out of bed. He had to find Malfoy, talk to him, or at least yell at him. He was out of bed and had his pants about half way on when something caught his eye. The lines of the floor that separated their room glowed brightly in the morning light. He hadn't even noticed how dim they had become as he an Malfoy had grown closer together. Now they were bright again, dividing Harry's heart as efficiently as they divided the room.

Forcing his eyes away from the lines, he went in search of his roommate. He went to the library first, hoping that Zabini and Malfoy would be having another conversation there, but it was empty. He had also hoped that there was a chance of finding Hermione, he still needed to talk to her about the letter, but she wasn't there either. He searched the Quidditch field next. Flying had always helped him clear his head, he could only hope that the same was true for Malfoy. Once again he was disappointed and hurried off to search the potions building. He couldn't think of any good reason why Malfoy would be there other than the fact that Harry wouldn't want to be there. Since Malfoy was apparently avoiding him, this would give him perfect reason to hide out in the potions building. If he wasn't there then Harry was out of ideas.

When Harry reached the building the front doors were locked. He slumped against the wall, not knowing what else to do. He didn't even know what he would say to Malfoy if he did find him. What could he possibly say?

Something in a neighboring building caught his eye. He could have sworn that he saw a familiar blonde head go past a window. It was the building that they had their muggle studies class in. Another figure, this time with black hair, passed by the window, but Harry didn't have a chance to see who it was. They were headed towards the door. Harry stood up and jogged towards the building. He stood off to the side and waited for Malfoy and the other man to come out. He couldn't explain why he was hiding from them, but he didn't want them to see him, at least not right away.

The doors to the building swung open and Malfoy stepped out, soon followed by Professor Ashton. Harry's jaw dropped, though he knew that he shouldn't have been surprised considering which building they were in. Everyone in his class knew that Professor Ashton lived in the building, similar to how the professors in Hogwarts lived there, only his apartment was apparently falling apart. He had whined about it several times in class, offering extra credit to anyone willing to fix it, so far no one had taken him up on that offer.

Ashton reached out, placing a hand on Malfoy's shoulder, the blonde turned around to face the older man. The professor then reached out and brushed some hair out of Malfoy's face, making Harry furious. The two of them stood there for a moment, talking too quietly for Harry to hear. He thought about trying to get closer, but he didn't want to disturb them, he wanted to see how this would play out.

Professor Ashton now rested both hands on Malfoy's shoulder, pulling him a bit closer. He must have said something funny because Malfoy chuckled, smiling up at the taller man. Harry's blood began to boil as the professor leaned in and placed a soft kiss on the top of the blonde's head. Malfoy hugged the man and they soon broke apart, Professor Ashton back into the building and Malfoy in the direction of the library.

Harry hurried to catch up with him. He had never felt so disgusted by Malfoy, not even when he had decided to help Umbridge. It was bad enough that he had run out after having sex with him, he could understand that to some degree. But now he crawled into bed with one of the professors, that was something that Harry couldn't tolerate. Fury burned through his veins. Apparently he wasn't good enough for Malfoy, but Professor Ashton was? He couldn't explain why the idea of Malfoy sleeping with someone else, even a professor, would upset him this much, but it did. He felt sick to his stomach at the very thought of them.

Malfoy stopped in his tracks, as if he realized that Harry was trying to catch up to him. Harry stopped as well, leaving just a little bit of distance between the two of them. If he wanted to, he could have reached out and grabbed Malfoy's shoulder, spinning him around so that they were face to face, but he didn't. All he could do was picture Professor Ashton's hand on that shoulder, Professor Ashton spinning him around, and he didn't even want to think about what would happen after that. So instead he stood there, trying to think of something to say to the blonde in front of him, the cause of so much emotional turmoil that boiled within his body.

They stood there like that for over a minute, Harry not saying anything and Malfoy not acknowledging his presence. Each of them waited for the other to make the first move until it became only too obvious that neither were willing to. Harry was the first to turn away, walking off in the direction that he had come from. All of the anger seemed to have left his body, he felt empty inside. He walked back towards his dorm room, back to the room that had so recently been filled with passion, back to the bed that still bore evidence of their lust. The pillow smelled so strongly of Draco's unique scent. Harry buried his head in it as the pillow soaked up his tears.

* * *

There you go, one chapter right on time! I hope that you enjoyed it, please don't kill me! Also (and dont kill me for this either) Next week there wont be a full chapter. It will be a mini-chapter, only about two pages long in word. My normal is around five and a half to six pages long in word. I do appoligize for this ahead of time, but I couldnt find any way to make it longer and still finish it where I wanted to. I really do hope that I get a lot of reviews for this chapter, not becuase I'm going to be a review whore or anything but my betta HATES this chapter because she knows that the reviews will be "disgusting" and you'll understand why next chapter. Anyway, next update will be next week.


	11. Lesson 11, minichapter

A soft stroke to the back of Harry's head woke him up. He realized that he had fallen asleep on Malfoy's bed, his head still buried in the pillow. He knew without even opening his eyes that the bed's owner was standing next to him. Apart from the fact that Malfoy was the only other one with the key, he could smell the Slytherin's freshly shampooed hair, recognized the scent of the soap.

"Hey," Malfoy greeted him when Harry lifted his head. There was no malice in his voice, not even enough to suggest that he wasn't happy to see Harry in his bed.

It was as if the previous day and a half had never happened, like they had never slept together, as if Harry hadn't caught him leaving Professor Ashton. That alone brought back the fire that had burned through Harry. He remembered the unspoken insults, the way that he had been used.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" Harry snarled at him.

"What?" Malfoy backed away.

"So you're screwing professors now huh? Is that how you're passing your classes?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Malfoy. I saw you and Professor Ashton. I don't even want to know what sort of disgusting things the two of you did!"

"You have no idea what you are talking about, Potter, so shut up before you say something you'll regret!" Draco shouted back, the argument escalating in noise.

"Trust me, I might not have _said_ anything that I regret, but I have defiantly _done_ something I regret!" Harry climbed off of the bed, standing only an inch away from Malfoy's face. "I never should have slept with you, you disgusting slut!"

"Scream it out a little louder, I don't think everyone heard you!" Malfoy shoved Harry away from him, only adding fuel to Harry's rage.

"Oh, you want to talk about letting people know? How about Zabini, huh? You broke the rules, you went out and told _my_ secret! Now all I have to do is find a punishment for you, I'm sure that Hermione can research ancient torture techniques for me!"

"That secret wasn't just yours, I needed to…" Malfoy's voice was softer, though Harry was not interested in examining why.

"Yeah, well it wasn't just yours either!"

Harry and Malfoy glared at each other, neither one wanting to back down. Harry locked eyes with him, trying to stare him down. The rest of the world faded away until the only thing left was their argument.

"If we're going to have this fight, lets go somewhere a little more private, or at least with thicker walls and fewer breakable objects," Malfoy suggested.

"What's wrong, afraid your pathetic crush is going to find out you're screwing around? Don't you want him to know you fucked me?"

"Trust me, I'm over him, turned out to be a jack ass!" Draco growled back at him, "Never should have slept with him."

"So who was it?" Harry sneered, "Your dear Professor Ashton?"

"Ashton is my cousin!" Malfoy screamed at him, "I sat on his couch watching bloody Disney movies all night long because I couldn't sleep!"

Harry was taken aback. Memories flooded through his mind a breakneck speed. Zabini accusing Malfoy of flirting with a Gryffindor, the way Draco's heart had pounded when they were close, how he had jumped at every opportunity to help Harry, to spend more time with him. It seemed impossible, but all of the signs were right in front of him. They were so obvious that he wondered how he could have missed them. Realization washed over him, extinguishing the anger in him. Draco had called his crush oblivious, and Harry had to admit it was true.

"Draco," Harry's voice was much softer, nervous almost. The blonde turned away from Harry, headed for the door, but the Gryffindor lashed out, grabbing his arm. They held that position for a moment until Harry worked up the nerve to speak again, "Draco, tell me, is it…"

"Yeah," Draco nodded without turning around to look at Harry, "I don't know why, but I just can't stop thinking about you."

Harry's hand released Draco's arm. His heart pounded, he wanted to jump up and down. He couldn't keep a straight face, a huge smile stretched from ear to ear. The ending of every sappy muggle movie played through his head as he reached out for Draco's body, wanting to turn him around and kiss him. But Draco pulled away before he could, exiting the room and leaving Harry standing there alone.

* * *

Yeah, I know. I didnt update it last week. It was the week from hell, six projects due, all but one of them was a group project, plus I have finals still. I SHOULD be coming out with another chaper next week, but I'm not going to make any 100% promises.


	12. Lesson 12, Finals

Harry stayed in the room for what felt like days, but he knew in actuality that it was only a few hours. His mind shut down, unable to process what had just happened. That was supposed to be their happy ending, their happily ever after. Why had Draco run away? He couldn't wrap his mind around what had happened. He replayed the exchange in his mind over and over, each time trying to look at it from a different perspective. From every angle, Draco was still claiming that he was interested in Harry, that he wanted some sort of relationship with him. But then he would run away.

The sound of knocking on the door stirred Harry. He had no idea who might be visiting him. The only person that he wanted to talk to right now had his own key to the room and would not have knocked.

"It's open." He called out, not moving from his seat on his bed.

The door opened to reveal a man that Harry did not recognize. He was dressed in nice robes that looked official, but not overly official. Harry guessed that he was probably some important person's assistant. He was not in the mood to deal with anyone at the moment, but he knew from experience that it was easier to get them to leave by listening to them. He would let them offer whatever they wanted before politely turning them down.

"Hello, I am Mr. Sanders, I'm the Chancellor's assistant. He would like to meet with you in his office regarding your scheduling for next semester." The official looking man said. "He will be waiting for you."

The door closed behind Mr. Sanders, leaving Harry alone once more. True, he had gotten the man to go away, but now he was faced with an even more daunting task, meeting with the Chancellor. He wondered why the Chancellor could possibly be interested in his scheduling, unless it was to impress just how important a Defense Against the Dark Arts major would be. Harry had honestly forgotten all about the whole scheduling dilemma until Mr. Sanders had mentioned it. He had never sent the letter, he hadn't even gotten it back from Hermione. There was no chance that anyone other than Draco, Hermione, and himself knew anything about it. Well, Draco could have mentioned it to Blaise, but that wouldn't have changed much. There was still no reason for the Chancellor to be interested in his scheduling unless it was just more of the same.

Harry got dressed into some nicer robes, trying to focus on the task ahead of him and not think about Draco. This was another possible opportunity for him to try to convince someone that he would make a good healer. Admittedly it had come at the worst possible time, but at least he had a chance. Just as he was leaving the room he happened to glance at the clock. It was past five. Every bit of administration in the school was shut down by five every weekday, no questions asked. Not only was it past five, but it was still Sunday. These two bits of information floated around in Harry's head as he walked towards the Chancellor's office.

When Harry stepped inside, he was not surprised or impressed by the ornate room. Figures were carved into the corners of the room, magnificent paintings hung on the wall, and an expansive, as well as expensive, desk took up a large section of it. He recognized Chancellor Salis from the his first day in Chatnoir, although he hadn't seen him since then. The man was sitting in an oversized leather chair on the opposite side of the desk, looking very serous.

"Mr. Potter, please take a seat," The man motioned to one of the two comfortable chairs on the opposite side of the desk. "It has come to my attention that last Friday you came to one of the guidance councilors about scheduling, a certain Mr. Clark, is that correct?"

"Yes sir," Harry nodded.

"And that you questioned him about the possibility of switching your major?" Chancellor Salis pressed.

"Yes sir," Harry repeated, wondering if his participation in this conversation was truly necessary.

"And what was his response to this?" he asked with a blank expression.

"He told me that if I wanted to switch my major that there was a good chance that I would be kicked out of this school and that no other schools would even think about taking me in. He said that the only reason that I got into Chatnoir was because of my name and because of what it would mean for this school if I graduated from here with a major in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but you already know all of that, so why am I here?"

"I only learned of this an hour ago. I assure you that you have Chatnoir's full support, as well as my own, in any major you may choose. As of Monday, Mr. Clark will no longer be employed by this school, or any other school. I want to insure that there are no misunderstandings between us. You got into this school based on your own merit, just like everyone else. You are free to pursue any major you desire. I will personally arrange a scheduling session between you and one of our top guidance councilors. You will be in whatever classes you desire."

"You don't need to fire him," Harry protested. While he hated the man with a deep passion, he didn't want to ruin his career. It would be one thing if he thought that this whole reversal was the chancellor's decision, but he had a feeling that someone else had played a hand in it. There was no way that he would have suddenly taken such an interest in the case as to ask to meet with Harry on a Sunday unless something else was going on. Clearly, someone had threatened to release this story to the public, probably in Monday's edition of the Daily Prophet.

"I dare say I would not risk having him treat any other students the same way as he treated you. We have had multiple complaints about him in the past, it is a spot on our record that he was employed here for this long, Mr. Potter. In the future, should you have any difficulties with any of our staff or professors, I do ask that you come to me personally. I would not like to have a repeat of this horrid event."

Harry nodded, figuring that it was easiest just to agree. They soon finished their meeting, meaning that Chancellor Salis finished telling Harry just how glad they were to have him at Chatnoir, and how he was more than welcome to study whatever he desired until Harry just wanted to smack the man to shut him up.

As he began the trek back to his dorm, Harry remembered the argument with Hermione. He hadn't believed her when she had claimed that the letter was horrible blackmail, but now he had to agree. Even though he had not delivered the letter, even though he had nothing to do with why the Chancellor had called him up there, he still felt terrible about it. Someone has lost their job because of him. If he had been the one to actually deliver the letter, well, he wasn't sure if he would have been able to do that. He was starting to get an idea as far as who might have mentioned his predicament to the Chancellor though.

Harry bit his lip and turned the doorknob to his room. He was sure that Draco would be in there and he really needed to have a long conversation with him about many things. As he expected, the blonde was straightening up his half of the room, as if anything were ever out of place. Harry cleared his throat to get his attention. Draco sat down the notebook that he had been taking to his desk and looked at Harry.

"I suppose I owe you an explanation," Draco sighed, sitting on his bed and motioning for Harry to sit with him. "I'm not sure when it started, but I couldn't stop thinking about you, the way you laugh, smile, and that last t it was just too much. That's why I spent the night with my cousin, I know that if I stayed here I wouldn't be able to control myself."

"Who said that I want you to control yourself?" Harry fought to keep a blush off of his face, but it was a loosing battle. Draco liked him, wanted him even. His heart pounded with joy.

"Who said that I was controlling myself for your sake?"

Harry's jaw dropped. If he had been listening close enough, he was certain that he could have heard the sound of his heart splitting in two. He tried to talk, but words wouldn't come out. He had been interested in Draco for a long time, the two previous nights had made him realize that. Just a few hours ago he learned that it was a mutual attraction, his brain was already in overload without this turn of events.

"I told you before that the wizarding world doesn't care if I'm gay, that's only mostly true," Malfoy said with a deep breath, "They don't care if I sleep with some random guy, or even another pureblood in my situation."

"But I'm different," Harry sighed. "They'd care if it was me."

Draco nodded, "Anything we could have had would have had to been kept secret. We'd have to have dated other people to keep anyone from getting suspicious. I don't think that I could have done that."

"Why? Why can't we just let people know?"

Draco's silence answered Harry's question better than any words. Draco was engaged, he was going to get married to that beautiful blonde girl with the sparkling eyes. That was his job, his duty to his family.

"Thank you," Harry said after a bit, "I know it was you that threatened the Chancellor."

"You're a Gryffindor, I'm a Slytherin. I couldn't let you sink down to that level." Draco leaned over, placing one solid kiss on Harry's cheek, "I have an overnight bag already packed, I'm going to spend the night at Ashton's again."

Harry didn't move, he just heard the door open and close as Draco left the room.

The rest of the semester seemed to drag on. No matter how many times he went to sleep, he still felt like that horrible day was just yesterday. The entire atmosphere of their dorm room had changed, the warm comfortable feeling had evaporated overnight. The nights were colder no matter how many blankets Harry piled on top of his bed. Even when they were both in the room, which had become increasingly rare, they never spoke. Occasionally Harry would catch Malfoy looking over at him, but they never said a word about what had happened between them.

The separation had spread outside of the room as well. Hermione and Blaise had noticed right away that they never saw the two of them together anymore. Without the slightest bit of communication, they had found a way to split the custody of their friends, Draco visiting Blaise in the morning and Harry seeing Hermione in the afternoon. If anyone remembered the fight that Hermione and Blaise had had, no one said anything.

The only time they spoke was when they were forced to by Professor Ashton, although that had quickly dwindled away when he took note of the tension between the two boys. After the class they would quickly split up and go their separate ways rather than be together for a moment longer than necessary. Harry figured that Ashton already knew everything that there was to know, it was becoming normal for Malfoy to spend the night with his cousin, effectively avoiding the dorm room.

After their first horrid attempt, they had silently agreed to never try showering at the same time. Both of them discovered a sudden interest in privacy that they had never experienced before, knocking on the door to their own room to avoid catching the other in the middle of changing shirts. Although neither of them said it, Harry could tell that the separation was hurting Draco just as much as it did him. He could see it in the way the blonde looked at him that he was feeling the same wounds. Every time he caught sight of those blue eyes it felt like someone had stabbed a knife right in his heart, it hurt even more to see the similar pain looking back at him.

Although he never voiced what was wrong, he knew that Hermione was worried about him. She probably knew the situation, Draco had told Blaise, and he doubted that anyone could keep Hermione from finding out what was wrong with a friend. She gave him the most sympathetic looks whenever Draco was around, and she would reach over and place her hand on top of his when he wasn't. He silently thanked her for not making a big deal out of it, but he was glad to know that she supported him. The scenarios of his friends abandoning him replayed through his head, but this time they looked ridiculous.

It was almost the end of finals week before either of them broke the silence. Harry had just returned from the worst day of his life. He had just written a paper for History of the Struggle Against the Dark Arts, which was horrible in its self, but the topic made Harry want to curl up in a ball and die. He had just spent the past two hours writing about the betrayal of Lily and James Potter by the serial killer Sirus Black. He had used a flimsy excuse about not feeling well to escape to the bathroom long enough to compose himself. The professor had obviously seen that he was about to cry and had thankfully given him that time.

Upon returning to his room, Harry noticed something out of place. A folded piece of parchment sat in the middle of his unmade bed. Without even touching it he already knew who had written it. The good quality parchment and almost obsessively perfect folding gave him all of the information. He was tempted to throw it away without reading it, but it was the first effort that Draco had made since their incident over a month ago. He reached out and held the paper for a moment before opening it.

_I know that this may sound like an odd request, but every year there is a Christmas party and a New Year's party at the Malfoy Manor. I'm always left alone with no one for company except for Ashton (which might explain some of the harassment we dole out on each other throughout the rest of the year). I understand that you are mad at me, and I can hardly say that I blame you, but it would mean a lot to me if you considered attending either of the events. If you decide to, just send an owl. You can bring Weasely if you like, from what I've heard through the grapevine he could probably use an escape from home during his break. You can't ask Hermione though, Blaise is planning on asking her to spend New Years with him._

The letter wasn't signed, but it didn't have to be. Harry bit his lip hard, not knowing what to do.

* * *

I apologize for it taking so long for me to update this again. I have had a CSI fanfic stuck in my head, so I've had to divide my time between Harry Potter and CSI. I tried to divide the time equally, but well, Nick Stokes has a gun, Harry only has a wand, so I'm sure that you can figure out who won. Anyway though, There is only one chapter left and I already have it written. Once Sparky the Beta goes over it (AKA Sakuramina) I will post it up. There will most likely be a sequel to this story at some point, but it will not be until after I get the CSI fic done.


	13. Lesson 13, Winter Break

Harry sighed, looking up at the expansive building in front of him. He never believed that he would be standing in front of the Malfoy Manor preparing to go inside for a party. Ron stood by his side, clearly nervous but happy to be away from his house. It had not been an experience that either of them wished to repeat, and Harry wondered if summer school had been an opportunity for Ron to get away more so than anything else.

It wasn't that Harry didn't love the Weasleys, he still adored the entire family, but being in the house was harder than he had imagined. The entire building reeked of grief. Mrs. Weasley's happy smile was nowhere to be seen. Ginny had found an excuse to stay at Hogwarts and hadn't returned. Pictures of both twins littered the house, as if someone would forget the loss if pictures of them were not in plane sight at all times. George moped around the house, having sold the joke shop without even stepping foot in it again. Mr. Weasley had gotten old in the course of half a year, suddenly looking twice his age.

"I can't believe you talked me into this," Ron muttered as they gazed up the path.

"Yeah, well, he's changed." Harry sighed, wondering if it was true. He had still not spoken directly to Draco since the argument. The note that he received, as well as one owl he sent in response, was their only communication.

"Sirs shouldn't be in the cold," A voice from behind them squeaked. Harry spun around to see a house elf standing behind them. Unlike the others he had seen in the past, this elf was bundled up for the cold, although it was still not technically clothing.

"We're on our way in," Harry assured him.

Without saying another word to Harry or Ron, the house elf ran between them and opened the door. He held it with one arm, motioned for them to enter with the other. As he stepped out of the cold, Harry did not even notice the space around him. He missed the decorations, the warmth of the house, it was almost as if nothing existed. He could tell that Ron was noticing everything though, noticing it and sneering at it.

"Ron, get over it," Harry advised, not knowing or caring what his friend was so caught up about.

Another house elf appeared and took their coats and other winter items from them, presumably to take them off to a coat room, but Harry didn't ask. Since neither of them were the owners of the elf, they knew that the offering of clothing did nothing. Soon afterwards, another appeared to lead them to where the party was taking place. Even in their dress robes, Harry knew that they would still feel underdressed and out of place, but he was ready for it.

He was surprised to find that he was not as out of place as he had expected to be. Dress ranged everywhere from casual to very formal. He recognized the people around him from photographs, some of them he had even met. They were all important wizards and witches, all from the upper echelons of wizarding society, but not all of them were purebloods. They moved around the room in a social dance, never talking to one person for too long, always moving to the next person to insure that everyone knew they were there.

Standing by the door made him the perfect target for one of those social calls, the best way to avoid them was to pick a direction and walk there as if he had a purpose. With that in mind, he headed to one of the sides, hoping to possibly find Malfoy there. He wouldn't know what to say if he did find him, but he could at least thank him for inviting them to the party.

A flash of blonde hair stood out, catching Harry's attention. He spotted Crescentia talking to someone that he did not recognize. He was taller than her with brown hair curling softly around his ears. He was semi-muscular, not strong enough to hold Harry against his will, but plenty strong enough to push Crescentia around. His hand was wrapped around her wrist, preventing her escape as they spoke quickly in a language that Harry could not understand. From what he had previously heard of her, he assumed it was German.

With Ron standing next to him, Harry watched the situation unfold, ready to jump in at a moment's notice. While the hand around her wrist was tightening, Crescentia was hardly trying to get away. Instead, she seemed comfortable continuing to argue with the man. The turning point came when she slapped him hard across the face. He freed her arm and took a step back as she ran out of the room, utilizing one of the many small corridors that led away from the crowded room.

"Hey, keep an eye on that guy," Harry said to Ron, "I'm going to go see if she's alright."

"You know her?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, we've met before." Harry muttered as he pushed past his friend, headed down the same corridor that he had seen Crescentia run down.

It did not take him long to find her. She was sitting on a set of marble stairs in an unlit part of the hall. Her pale lavender dress seemed to almost glow softly, giving her an almost angelic appearance. It would have been beautiful, Harry realized, if she was not sobbing into her hands.

"You alright?" Harry asked, hoping that she recognized him as her fiancé's roommate. That word left a sour taste in his mouth, but he tried to ignore it. She didn't respond, but just continued sobbing. "Who was he?"

"My boyfriend," She choked out in a heavily accented voice, "I don't know how he got here."

"But aren't you engaged to…" Harry trailed off when he saw her sobs grow harder.

"Caspar and I have been together for three years, I love him with all of my heart. For the past two years he's been helping me learn English so that my husband and I can speak to each other."

Harry moved to sit next to her, not sure how to comfort someone forced into a marriage that they wanted to avoid. He knew the pain of being forced out of a relationship, knew about the longing, but he had the rest of his life ahead of him. Given time, he would be able to get over what had happened to him, Crescentia would not have that option.

"This was supposed to be my first date with Draco, this was where I was supposed to meet him for the first time. It's when the lies begin." She tried to explain, "I don't want to marry him."

Harry tried to think of something to say, but thankfully the sound of a person at the end of the hall stopped him from having to say something. He looked up to see Draco standing there, the light from the main room shining behind him. Harry's heart raced as he walked towards him.

'He's not here for you' Harry told himself, 'he's here for her, his future wife.'

Draco stopped a couple of feet away from them, looking back and forth between the love of his life and the person that he would be spending the rest of his life with. He tried to reconcile the fact that they were two different people, that he wouldn't have a chance to spend the rest of his life with someone that he loved.

"That man out there, the one that Weasley keeps staring at, that's Caspar, isn't it?" He asked, looking at Harry instead of Crescentia.

The crying woman nodded, tears still flowing down her face. Harry scooted back as Draco came forward, kneeling in front of her. He reached out and put his finger under her chin, lifting her face enough for him to see her. Harry's stomach clenched, they looked like they were about to kiss. He tried as hard as he could to keep that image from his mind, convincing himself that Draco would not do that with him still in the room.

"Crescentia, you are a beautiful woman in every sense of the word. You are strong, intelligent, confident, and you look amazing. You are what every man dreams that his wife will be." Draco said, brushing some stray blonde hairs out of her face with his other hand.

Harry felt a band tighten around his heart. Crescentia did not love Malfoy, she loved Caspar, but he had not thought about what Draco's feelings might be towards her. He could feel tears starting to well up, but he fought them down. He was not going to run away and cry in the bathroom like some girl. He was stronger than that, he was better than that. Even if Draco was almost physically ripping his heart out, he would stay. He would have to get over the beautiful former Slytherin at some point, that point might as well be now.

"As soon as you walk into a room, everyone's eyes are on you," Draco continued, "Someday I'll be the one standing next to you, neither of us have any say in that, and I'll feel honored to have you. But that day is not today. Please, for my sake, go in the bathroom and clean up that face. I don't want anyone to know that my future wife has been crying, I want them to see her having a wonderful night with the man she loves."

"But.." She began only to be interrupted.

"Soon you'll have to pretend that man is me, but not tonight."

Crescentia threw her arms around him, holding Draco close for a moment as more tears ran down her face. These were not tears of sadness though, not anymore. She lingered there for only a moment before she dashed off to fix her makeup. Harry knew that it would only be a matter of minutes until she was back in Caspar's arms again.

Draco sat down next to Harry, sitting where Crescentia had just a moment before. Harry didn't say anything, not sure what he could say. He felt an awkward tension form between him, but not from the lack of speech. He had grown very knowledgeable about Draco during the semester, he had learned more than enough about him to tell when he was thinking deeply. More than likely he was trying to think of something to say.

"I've been talking to Ashton," Draco said, "He isn't here tonight, but he had some good advice."

"What did he say?"

"He reminded me of what I had to give up for this family, especially since I'm going to be the head of the family, but I didn't need to be reminded. I already know everything I'm going to have to give up once I graduate. But then he reminded me of something else. I am half way through one year, I still have three and a half years before I get married to Crescentia, more if I fail a couple of classes."

"What's your point?"

"Crescentia is happy right now. She knows that she wont be able to spend her life with Caspar, the relationship will end with her graduation. She knows that, but she doesn't care. I'm…I'm going to spend the rest of my life with her, waking up next to her each morning, falling asleep next to her each night."

Harry stood up, trying to escape. It was bad enough that he knew all of this, he did not need to hear it spouted off. Each word had felt like a knife dug deep into his heart. He almost made it away, but a hand reached out, latching onto his own. He spun around to find that Draco's face was only inches from his own. They were both standing, both so close. The last time they had been this close, Harry had ended up losing his virginity.

"I'm going to spend the rest of my life with someone that I don't love, and I know that, but that isn't what this is about. Harry, I love you, and it's you that I want to be with. I just…I know what the future holds for me, and it isn't pretty, but right now…right now is my only shot at being happy. These next three and a half years, they are the rest of my life."

Harry's heart almost stilled in his chest. Was Draco saying what he thought he was?

"We don't have a future together, and it won't be easy. We'd have to hide whatever relationship we have, but I can't miss my one shot at life."

Harry looked into those beautiful eyes, saw the small hope for love that those eyes still contained. He could feel tears flowing down his cheeks, but he didn't care if he was crying. He couldn't decide what to do, enter a relationship with a deadline, or go through life always wondering what would happen. Either way, the end of the line held nothing but pain, but for three and half years, they could be together, be happy.

A loud cheer rang through the ball room at the other end of the hallway and loud music began to play.

"It's midnight," Draco announced.

"Happy new year," Harry said, leaning in to kiss Draco. He savored the feeling of their lips meeting, the feeling of a hand wrapping around his torso, pulling him closer. They might not have a future, but at least they had the present.

* * *

And now you understand the necessity of a sequel! Said sequel, assuming that it does exist, will not be showing up for a while. I have a CSI fic that has been bugging me for a while now, I just need to write it so that it will leave me alone! If I end up not writing the sequel, I'll at least post up an epilogue on this story.

Thank you very much for reading this, as well as for any reviews that you might have sent.


	14. Epiloguecontinuation

Harry shoved the last bit of his clothing into his bag. Winter break was over and soon he'd be back at Chatnior. Draco was supposed to pick him up soon and he wanted to get everything together before he arrived. While he didn't want to say that he was anxious to get away from the Weasley household, he wanted to see Draco again.

The pair of them had only been able to communicate through owls for almost a month. Those owls had been carefully worded. Both Harry and Draco understood that they had to keep their relationship under wraps. They couldn't say anything about their relationship even in their most personal letters for fear that someone else would find them. Harry longed to hear Draco tell him that he loved him, or even that he just cared about him, but the most Draco could say in the letters was that he was looking forward to their potions class together.

Harry couldn't wait to see him again, to wrap his arms around Draco. His body screamed for the blonde man, begging for the time when they would be together again. They had already decided that they would push their beds together as soon as they arrived, enjoying themselves fully before they had to go to classes.

"Hey, Harry, you almost done?" Ron asked, startling Harry.

"Yeah, just a few more things to pack," Harry nodded, wondering what his friend was up to.

For the past week, Harry had suspected that Ron had something that he wasn't telling him. The redhead had been smiling, or perhaps he was smirking. While he was good at keeping a secret, he was terrible at hiding the fact that he had a secret. So far he hadn't given Harry a single clue, he hadn't even admitted to having a secret even though it was painfully obvious.

"Is Chatnior nice?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, it's alright," Harry nodded, not mentioning the problems that he had had when they first moved into the dorms. Ron didn't need to know about when the ceiling collapsed on them, or that he was certain that the "food service hall" had roaches.

"It sounds nice, Hermione was telling me about it." Ron smiled.

Harry quickly nodded and looked away. He didn't want to bring up the fact that Hermione was currently staying at another man's house. She had spent some time at the Weasley house, but had gone to stay with Blaise for the past week, claiming that she was going to study with him to prepare for the coming semester. Harry didn't have the heart to mention that she couldn't possibly be studying. He was fairly certain that they didn't have any classes in common.

Ron did not seem to notice the discrepancy though. He was too busy thinking about his own secret. He hadn't noticed much of anything since two weeks previous. Just about two weeks ago, Ron had disappeared for an afternoon. It was only once he returned that he hadn't been able to keep the smile off of his face.

"I hated fall semester," Ron said, the smile or smirk getting bigger.

"Yeah, I missed having you in the same classes," Harry said, wondering if this was when Ron was going to reveal this great secret.

"I have to go pack," Ron smiled, disappearing again.

Harry shook his head and returned to his job. Ginny had already gone back to Hogwarts, he had been surprised when Ron had not gone back with her. He explained that it was because he was not taking regular classes. He was in classes designed for him, set apart from the rest of the students to insure that he got everything done and would be able to graduate at the end of the year. Apparently his classes did not start until a bit after everyone else's. It would give the professors a chance to get their classes started before they had to come up with his individualized lessons. As a result, Harry and Draco would be dropping him off at the station before they went to Chatnior.

Now that he was alone, he pulled out a small piece of paper from his bag. It was a letter from Draco, although the former Slytherin had not signed it incase it was intercepted. It had been shortly followed by a photograph, Draco smiling at him. It was a muggle picture though. Apparently the only camera he had been able to get ahold of was Ashton's muggle camera. Harry doubted that such a rich family couldn't find another camera, but the letter and picture had been done in a rush.

Harry's heart pounded as he looked at the picture and reread the words. He reminded himself that soon he and Draco would be together again. As soon as he arrived, they would get into a car designed to look like a regular muggle car. First they would drop Ron off at the station, then they would ride in that to Chatnior. Thankfully the windows were darkened, the car was enchanted to drive its self. They would be alone for hours on end. Harry blushed at the prospect. He could hardly wait for his boyfriend to show up.

"Do you need anything, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"I should be okay, but thank you for asking," Harry smiled back at her.

"I can hardly believe that you are getting picked up by a Malfoy," Mrs. Weasley signed.

Harry knew that she was not happy with his new friendship. She blamed the Malfoy family for what had happened to her family. She felt like they had specifically torn her world apart. Harry knew that Draco had had nothing to do with it. His life had been threatened, his family had suffered as well. Soon they would suffer even more that they had so far once his father was sentenced . There was not question on if he would be found guilty. The only question was if his mother would get off, claiming that her life had been threatened. She had not participated in the worst of the fights, and Harry had claimed that she saved his life.

"He's here," Someone called up from downstairs.

Harry grabbed his bag and hurried down the stairs. Mrs. Weasley was following him, he'd say good bye to her along with the rest of her family. Ron was already downstairs waiting for him. Together they said their goodbyes and loaded their stuff into the car. Draco hardly said a word to them, but kept his eyes locked on Harry.

"I'll miss spending time with you guys," Harry half lied as helped the house elf load the last bit of luggage into the mock-limo. It wasn't that he didn't like the family, just that he did not like the depressing atmosphere that had settled into the house. He still loved everyone in the Weasley household.

"Will you miss me while you're at Chatnior?" Ron asked, the smirk growing even larger.

"You know I will," Harry smiled, desperate to leave. The sooner they left the house the sooner they could drop Ron off and the sooner he and Draco could have some much needed time alone.

"No you wont!" Ron said excitedly, "Two weeks ago I passed the graduation test, I'm going to Chatnior with you!"

Draco's smile visibly faded as Harry tried to look excited for his friend. This, he knew, was not going to be good.

Okay, sorry that it took me so long to get this up. To see the continuation of this story, check out my profile and find How to Survive, Spring Semester. I'm posting that at the same time that I'm posting this, so it should be available right now.

I hope that you enjoyed this story and I hope that you enjoy Spring Semester if you choose to continue to read it.


End file.
